Episode 1: You must do this one thing to be healthy
In today’s podcast, I am going to share an important tip before you settle on any health goal. This is your time, and this is the About Thyme Podcast.
We all set goals for ourselves, but achieving them is not always easy unless you have the know-how and tools to make it happen. But I want to discuss what must be attained before we set our sights on health goals. Self-efficacy. Self-efficacy reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over your own motivation and behavior. It means being in control of the choices you make. It means understanding your options and making informed decisions.
But, the first thing we must do is to define what being healthy means to you.
- What are you striving for?
- What do you need to understand in order to make the best choices?
- In addition, ask yourself why. Why do you want to be healthy?
- And most importantly, Who could you be when you achieve your goals?
The term healthy can refer to several aspects of a person’s life. To me, healthy refers to the overall physical, mental, and spiritual wellness that fuels the body and engages the mind-body connection. As a nutritionist, I focus on the role of nutrition in wellness. But “healthy” can represent any aspect of wellness, such as physical, emotional, spiritual, or financial wellness. Making the right choices for health and well-being can be challenging, so it is important to take a moment to identify what matters, why you want to make a change, and what your end goal is.
Keep in mind how you define health will evolve and change as you move through life experiences. Everything changes, just like our bodies, and so will your definition of health. What you define today is not set in stone.
Most importantly, your health goal must be something you want to achieve. This is your life, your goal, and your self-efficacy. So, choose something that has meaning to you. In each of my podcasts, I am going to ask you to do something. Your task today is to determine what is important to you. Each of us is unique, with our custom-sized hopes and dreams and definition of well-being. Rather than letting society's standards dictate the definition of healthy or the goals we must accomplish, I want you to think and dream for yourself. Real success means staying true to yourself and connected to your vision and goals, not society’s.
To get started, list the health priorities that mean something to you. Common health goals include:
- Eat healthy
- Lose weight
- Sleep 7 hours per night
- Manage stress
- Be a role model for your kids
- Get organized
- Don’t drink so much wine
Okay, that last goal is for me. I love wine and enjoy having a glass or two with dinner at night. However, having a glass of wine every night is not the healthiest choice. But the greatest challenge we all face is letting go of what we enjoy. I enjoy making dinner and sipping on a beautiful cabernet; it relaxes me. But, as a nutritionist, I know that wine provides calories, impairs sleep, decreases motivation, and is a risk factor for cancer. Our internal struggle is doing what I enjoy vs. doing what is right. I am sure that you can relate.
However, when you know the risks associated with your behavior, you can make choices that serve you. This, my friend, is self-efficacy. It's the confidence in the ability to exert control over your own motivation and behavior. It means being in control of the choices you make. Deep down, you know how to achieve your health goals. The hardest part is to stop listening to the voice in your head that is making excuses to continue unhealthy behaviors.
But I know you are not listening to this podcast for the easy way out. You are not looking for the next fad diet or trend. You are looking to find a way to get it done. To jump off that proverbial cliff…rip off the band-aid…stop doing the things that drag you down…stop listening to the voice in your head saying, “You can’t do this.” Because you can do this. And I promise, once you get started, you will look back and realize it wasn’t so bad after all.
Now, let’s get back to that list. From the list of health goals you created, prioritize your goals. Place a number one next to the goal that means the most to you. The goal that will fulfill you and make you feel good about yourself. And remember, this is your goal and not what anyone else wants you to achieve. Oftentimes, when I work with clients, their end goal is not the goal they came to see me for. Dive deep into your soul, determine what will make you happy, and place a big ol’ number 1 next to it. Continue numbering your list based on priority.
Today, focus on the goal matters most. The next step will be how to achieve that goal. And if you need guidance, keep listening to this podcast. In addition, you can get more detailed information from my book, Limitless Health, where I provide 21 days of nutrition and lifestyle advice.
Also, check out my website, www.Tammyfogarty.com. I have a free guide for you called Define Your Goal worksheet. Use that guide to brainstorm the priorities and to identify your ultimate Health goal. It’s time to free yourself from unmet goals by making healthy choices in the moment.
Thank you for listening! But before you go, I am going to leave you with a list of what I like to call achievable actions. These are the actions that you can do today, in under 10 minutes. And we all have 10 minutes. Today’s Achievable Actions are to:
Make a list of health goals you want to achieve.
Using that list, prioritize your goals, with number one being the most important goal.
Write down that goal and place it where you can see it because you will work on achieving the goal as you continue to listen to my Podcast.
Lastly, visit Tammyfogarty.com to download the FREE Define Your Goal worksheet.
Until next time! Cheers!
