Letter V in the ABCs of health is for VISION! I feel like most people fall on one side of the spectrum for this kind of conversation, either you think this is all nonsense, or you’re a full believer. I have found very few people in the middle ground.
Regardless of where you stand, I want to encourage you to think about this. What you focus on, you become.
I know it may sound strange but think about it a different way. It’s easy to see red cars if you want to buy a red car. If you’re looking for a new house, you see for sale signs everywhere. If you’re hungry, most food sounds delicious. If you’re pregnant – every mom remembers this one!, you see pregnant women everywhere. It’s easier to spot the things you are paying attention to.
I know you agree. Now turn that on yourself. It’s easier to see the things you are paying attention to, that’s precisely why self-development can be so difficult. When we pay attention to who we are and who we want to become, we start to SEE things… and we do one of two things: we either take action or we hide.
When it comes to your health – be it physical, emotional, spiritual or mental, who do you see yourself as? Who do you want to be in 10 years, 5 years, one year… one month?
I highly recommend you ACTUALLY write this down… in these 4 areas, or however many you want to work with, where do you see yourself?
When you start focusing on that… when you start focusing on the person you want to be, regardless of where you are, you have the option of taking action.
Take action. In other words… DO something.
The person you want to be… what would she choose? When you think of the person you want to be… what habits does that person have?
Get detailed… what does that person do when she wakes up? When does she wake up? What does she drink? Where does she shop? What does she read? What are her hobbies? What relationships does she have? Where does she live? What does she eat?
The list goes on… the answers? The answers are you blueprint. If you want to get where you want to go… you need to move in the right direction, and the answers to these questions will tell you the actions that will take you there.
Andy Stanley says it best: direction, not intention, determines your destination.
To put it in a simple example, if you live in between the grocery store and the park, you don’t drive in the direction of the park hoping to reach the grocery store, you go in the direction of the destination you want to reach. If you WANT to go to the grocery store but drive in the opposite direction… your WANT, your intention, does nothing to get you to your destination.
The same is true for your health – in all areas. Where do you want to arrive? Your ACTIONS, your direction, are what determine where you will end up.
So create a vision for yourself… write it down. If you’re a visual person, make a note, put it in your wallet, or make a vision board, or better yet, journal it every single day, and TAKE ACTION, small actions every day in that direction.
Suddenly you will find that many wants are in the rear view mirror… you reached them, and now you’re going towards new goals.
It’s not about big actions, it’s not about what you do once a week, month or year, it’s about the small daily things that you do… You are what you do today. I’ve said this before… and you’ll hear it again… show up every day for the person you want to become, and one day… you will realize you’re there.
Keeping it simple,
Aline