Survey Your Feelings

Dear Aspen reader, 

Preparation, motivation and habit building play such a HUGE part in creating lasting change. Usually, when examining a lifestyle of wellness, most of the conversation is spent on creating incentives for fitness  and building beneficial routines for nutrition or meal plans. Both of which are valuable! But what if I were to ask you to pause and consider your feelings towards wellness? What part do your feelings towards change add to the equation?

 Join me for just a few moments!

Whether consciously or not, emotions often drive the way that we view exercise or food choices. Feelings like happiness, anger, sadness and excitement determine the amount of fuel that we have available in our tanks when it comes to efforts towards creating a lifestyle of wellness. Sad or angry about a particular situation? You probably struggle to find the energy or motivation for consistent wellness practices. Happy and excited? I would assume that your interest in healthy choices is probably high.

For example, take the (all too familiar) feeling of stress. Studies show that being in a stressful state, whether mentally or physically, can cause bouts of emotional eating or even meal skipping. Cravings can increase and the body’s interpretation of stress might push you in an uncomfortable direction with food habits. Feelings towards a certain type of fitness (whether it be running, group fitness classes, lifting weights etc) can affect how much effort is exerted during a session, alter your overall perceptions of fitness and even influence how you see your own fitness abilities.

So how can we be sure that our feelings around habit change are positive and beneficial?

The first step is identifying your ability to change:

1.     Do you feel that you have the ability, within yourself, to make lasting changes?

a.      If yes, what traits do you possess that might help you to create change?

b.     If no, what traits are you lacking that would enhance your ability to change? 

Once you’ve determined your ability to change, consider longevity:

1.     Do you think making changes to your health and wellness practices is realistic?

2.     Do you think making changes to your health and wellness practices is maintainable?

3.     What contributing factors might lend to lasting changes in your routine?

Making connections between your emotions, feelings and ability to change is the first step in creating a foundation for healthier living. As you move into this week, make it a point to stay aware of your thoughts and  feelings when you exercise or share a meal. Building awareness is a great starting point to creating a lifestyle of wellness!

In health,

Alecia 

“Whether consciously or not, emotions often drive the way that we view exercise or food choices.”