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5
Proven Ways to Safely Make Positive Life
Changes |
by:
Emily
Clark |
One of the most important aspects of living
a healthy and
prosperous life is understanding "risk."
By this I mean knowing
how to understand and analyze situations
in life that affect
health. Being able to accurately weigh benefits
and risks when
making health decisions is very important!
Too often decisions
are based on incomplete or inaccurate information
and this is a
huge mistake with significant consequences!
Failure to accurately assess risk keeps
people locked in all
kinds of unhealthy situations including
poor eating and exercise
habits (lifestyle), relationships and jobs.
Sometimes people are
just afraid to step out and make a change.
They see "risk" in
making a change when the REAL risk comes
from NOT making a
change. From my perspective, living with
the stress, unhappiness
and frustration of indecision and poor health
is the greatest
risk of all, and one that is definitely
not worth taking!
Accessing "risk" is nothing more than collecting
information,
weighing the alternatives and then making
appropriate decisions
based on the information.
Some risks to our health are more "real"
than others. For
example, it is common knowledge that obesity
is associated with a
wide variety of health problems. On the
other hand, there are
some health risks that are so remote we
rarely think about them.
On a practical level, eating highly processed
foods and avoiding
a daily dose of fresh fruits and vegetables
is rarely considered
serious. But, as too many have already discovered,
the long range
consequences of this practice are real and
devastating.
Failure to accurately assess risk limits
us in many ways. We
imagine the "risk" of talking with our children
about drugs,
dating or sex and we put off having the
"talk," even though the
risks of NOT talking are infinitely greater.
Fear of flying and
public speaking are two more "risks" affecting
millions of
people. But practically speaking, these
fears are unfounded.
People ride in cars every day, even though
cars are far more
dangerous than commercial aircraft! It's
a failure to accurately
assess risk, and it limits our health, prosperity
and pleasure in
life.
The goods news is that failure to accurately
access risk is
reversible! The effects of those decisions
to eat inappropriately
or NOT to exercise are, as the common expression
goes,
"do-overs." We can effect positive change
in our lives by
following a few simple steps to accurately
access risk:
1. Accurately define your present situation
and access your
health "risks". Are you eating a healthy
diet? Are you getting
enough exercise and good quality sleep?
What are the consequences
if you DON'T change? Weigh the benefits
of healthier living vs
the potential risks such as increased cost,
inconvenience or
discomfort.
2. What do you stand to gain if you change
your present
circumstances? Assess the "up-side" potential.
Too often we look
only at the "downside" risk and forget the
benefits. What good
things might happen if you take the risk
and win?
3. Limit the "down-side" if you happen to
make a wrong decision.
Don't continue down a path if it does not
produce results. This
is especially important when following weight
loss programs. If
the pounds are not coming off or if the
weight loss is only
temporary, find a new program! You not only
want to lose weight,
but want to sustain the weight loss for
as long as possible. Take
steps to ensure this will happen. Clear,
concise, realistic
objectives will definitely help.
4. Reduce your risk by being smart! Understand
the situation and
seek the advice of experts in the field
of health and nutrition.
This includes finding and forming partnerships
to receive support
and get good advice.
5. Have a fall-back position. If the decision
you make fails to
produce the desired results, be prepared
to take a long, hard
look at the circumstances and be prepared
to change what you are
doing.
Everything in life involves some element
of risk. Driving your
car, meeting someone new, crossing the street...but
we do them
every day. Winners in life are willing to
accept the risk and
continue on their way! Get involved, be
smart about how you play
the game, come prepared for a few failures
along the way, but
don't quite. You will reap the benefits
for your effort and live
a happier and healthier life. I like to
remember the words of the
great Winston Churchill when he said, "Never,
never, never give
up!"
The information contained in this article
is for educational purposes
only and is not intended to medically diagnose,
treat or cure any
disease. Consult a health care practitioner
before beginning any
health care program.
About the Author
Emily Clark is editor at Lifestyle
Health News and Medical
Health News
where you can find the most up-to-date
advice and information on
many medical, health and lifestyle topics.
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