Own your own Well Being!

You’re in charge…..what will you choose?

This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. We try to put aside the last week of the year to gather our family and go away. I appreciate the time we have together and also I’ve learned that the time away, and (mostly) disconnected is just what I need to ponder my own life, my values, my goals and ambitions. It’s a good way to make sense of the year I’ve had, and the year I want to create for myself. In order to make time for contemplative thought, I find it vital to break away from the myriad of distractions that I succumb to regularly.

I don’t really like resolutions—–it sounds like a bunch of stuff I make deals with myself that I’m not going to do anymore. Instead, I like to focus on things I’d like to bring more of into my life. Like everyone else, I only have 24 hours in each day, 7 days in each week. I don’t have any more or less time than anyone else—–just freedom of choice on how I want to spend that time. Where I can, I choose from a place of energy and well being as the ultimate goal. Having enough energy to participate in my life to the fullest is top on my priority list. What’s on your list?

It’s a question of living deliberately, or letting life just “happen” to you. In my health coaching practice, this is often where we begin. Living a vibrant a healthy life isn’t about deprivation………..It’s all about choice. It begins with choice. The question is: what will drive your choices? What’s important to you? And why? Sometimes, clients ask me to just tell them what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They ask for meal plans and say that if I could just provide that for them, it would be easy for them to achieve and maintain their ideal weight and certainly achieve a level of health they weren’t able to enjoy before. I can see why some folks would think it’s a good solution to their problem, but then guess what? I’d be the one calling the shots on YOUR life. Where’s the freedom in that? Where’s the growth? How does the food I would prescribe for you fit in with the rest of your goals, aspirations, and pleasure?

There’s so much more that goes into vibrant good health than what comes on your plate. I’m talking relationships, job satisfaction, and physical well being. Your emotional health, your time management skills, the way you chose to spend your free time…..all of these things contribute to your health. Creating SPACE in your life to contemplate how you choose to spend your time and why is vital to being able to own your own well being. Scheduling is, in fact, more about freedom than limitations. Executing the choices you make won’t happen arbitrarily. Only when you start scheduling your time (including buying and preparing wholesome, nutrient dense food), will your life begin to reflect the choices YOU have determined are vital to your health and happiness.

As 2017 rapidly approaches, I hope that you have the courage to dream big and own your own well being so that you have the energy to chase those dreams..