Real Life Wellness: How to make changes for good

By Bill Hemmer
Two weeks ago, I talked about how toxins make everyone of us have problems that are low grade and not detected on blood tests or x-rays. These problems just make us feel bad. Not bad enough to do something about, but just enough to make us enjoy life less than we should. I want to change that for you.

Notice I said “change.” Change is one of those words that brings fear and anxiety to people no matter what the circumstances. People are afraid of change. The uncertainty and the unknowns make changing hard and scary. But let me tell you from experience, nothing ever stays the same. Change is a daily part of all of our lives. Your body changes, your waistline changes, your hairline changes and your metabolism changes. Your children, your job requirements, your check book balance, blah, blah, blah, you get the idea. So why is everybody so afraid of change?

I have come to the conclusion that people are afraid of change because they make their expectations of the change so great that there is little chance of meeting these expectations. Things like, “When I get to this weight everything will be perfect” or “Once I have more energy, I will be happy with my life.” The problem with statements like these is that they make the result of the change the beat-all end-all emotional answer. I have never found this to be the case. So, this leads to disappointment.

Depression, hopelessness and anxiety soon follow when a change doesn’t lead to your perfect world. Believe me, I feel your pain. I have personally been through this cycle many times. So how do you get out of this cycle? You realize that you need to have fun in the process of change. Don’t obsess on the results, obsess on the process. Use the process of change as your blueprint for your life. If you focus on the process, the results will take care of themselves and they become an enjoyable byproduct of the process not another end point that you have to overcome.

But what is the process of change? I have recently read and researched some very interesting books on this subject, and I learned that my program had some big problems. The problems in my program were very similar to the problems that most action-based programs have. You see, I have always been prone to quick action. I thought you needed to act first then work out the problems and details as you go. But I have learned that this is a great way to fail in the long term. This is why I have gained and lost over 200 lbs. in my life.

What I can tell you is that the process of change must be followed if you want to continue to improve your health long term. So, if you want to get rid of your guilt and anger over your past failed attempts of change, read next week’s article.