Strategies for Heart Healthy Living: Are We Destined to Fail?
Dr. David Manela is the medical director of Manela Cardiology PLLC. This is a premier cardiovascular center that offers a comprehensive spectrum of services from prevention to treatment as well as providing help from nutritionists and behavioral therapy. All of this is included in a fixed annual very affordable membership... more
It's a well-known statistic that change initiatives fail 70% of the time. If this is also the case in trying to reach a healthier lifestyle, what options exist in changing the rules of behavior and nurturing much better results? Your physician can preach the good word and provide you with great resources but what really creates a better platform for change? It may come across as a cliché, but it starts with belief. Do you believe that you can live a healthier lifestyle? Secondly, have you adopted a set of values in line with that belief. And lastly, will this change initiative find a natural fit within this set of values?
We often think we can outsmart our own brains. And if we have done nothing to prepare for a more active lifestyle, then the 5 am morning run may not stick if getting up so early is equally as difficult. The carrot and celery snacks won’t be a hit if eating raw vegetables is not something you particularly enjoy. Holding back from that delicious burger on the menu will not fly if you still find it necessary to hang out at Smoky Joes Burger Palace. It’s the belief in a healthier lifestyle that will help in recreating some of the norms in your daily routine. If you learn (and adopt) that healthy people try to keep to a healthier sleep schedule, incorporate more vegetables in their diet and avoid greasy restaurants in general. Then, only then, it will be easier to start an early morning run and have more vegetable snacks during the day. And working against that burger urge will be a moot point if you’re at the poke bar instead of Smokey Joes!
This tendency of jumping to an action plan without setting forth any prerequisites is commonplace in society. How often have you splurged on a new technical gadget without first making room for how it would really play a role in your life? And 3 months later it sits on your shelf. How often have you purchased a self-help book only to realize the same shortcomings that prompted you to buy the book are now the ones preventing you from adopting it.
Why does this matter so much? Because taking the steps towards first getting up early is often easier to implement than starting immediately with a 5 am run. While the 70% fail rate may apply to the actual intended change initiative, it doesn’t apply to those smaller changes that may be all that’s needed to prime you for the “big event.” Start today, think about those conditions that will set you on the path to being healthy, and in no time you will see a 70% success rate in any change you choose to make!.
For more health information visit www.manelacardiology.com.
