Mindful health is about actively choosing foods, activities and thoughts that favorably affect one’s physical and mental well-being.

Good health is important to living life to the fullest.  You need energy to do and feel your best.  Also, your physical condition directly impacts your mental state.  If you want to be happier and enjoy a more rewarding life, then you need to start practicing mindful health.  This is just commonsense.

You begin by identifying the barriers you are up against.  You can’t get from where you are today to where you want to be in regards to your health without  facing the obstacles head on.

3 Barriers to Mindful Health to Overcome

Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.  ~ Sun Tzu (Chinese General and Author)

What stands in your way to eating right, exercising more often and being happy?  Well, I think there are some common obstacles we all face.  You might not be up against all of these, but chances are you can identify with at least a portion of this. 

Knowing your enemy is key to winning the battle of better health.  Your biggest hindrance could be inside your own mind or it could be an external factor.  Either way, identifying it properly will help you defeat it.

Here are some common barriers to mindful health:

1.  Bad Habits

We are creatures of habit.  These habits give us a sense of comfort and security.  They help us to know what to expect, but they can also become a crutch.  When it comes to mindful health, we need to take our lives off autopilot!  We have to steer in a new direction. 

What bad habits are keeping you from the healthy lifestyle you desire?  You need to clearly identify them so you know your enemy.  Here’s a list of habits that can work against your efforts at mindful health:

• Watching too much television
• Eating out at fast food restaurants
• Ordering or preparing portions that are too large
• Thinking negative thoughts (yes, this is a habit)
• Smoking or using tobacco
• Snacking on junk food
• Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol
• Eating the wrong kinds of food
• Not eating enough fruits and vegetables
• Remaining sedentary

Habits are just well-worn paths.  We are not chained to them.  Yes, it takes a little effort to change our habits, but we can do it if we apply ourselves.  Knowing what you’re up against is the first step in changing a bad habit.

2.  Incorrect Thinking

Our thoughts drive our behavior.  Every action you take starts out as a thought in your head.  Therefore, you have to control your thinking in order to control your behavior.  If you are thinking wrong or negative thoughts about healthy living, then you are never going to achieve your goals.

Again, it is crucial that you clearly identify the thoughts in your head that are counterproductive to mindful health.  Take a look at this list to see if you can identify some of what is holding you back:

• I could never… (be thinner, stop smoking, run that far, etc.)
• It is just too hard.
• I’ve tried many times before and I can’t do it.
• It will be too expensive and I can’t afford it.
• I’m too tired to do that.
• Now is not the right time.
• I have too much working against me.
• This is the way I’ve always been and always will be.
• It just doesn’t matter.
• I was born this way and there is nothing I can do about it.

You’ve got to overcome the incorrect and self-defeating thoughts in your head before you can truly be successful at improving your health over the long-haul.  You need to replace the incorrect thinking with positive, encouraging beliefs.  Believe in yourself and you’ve won half the battle!

3.  The Wrong Strategy

How you go about improving your health has a lot to do with your success.  Fad diets, unrealistic expectations and various quick fixes undermine people’s confidence in their ability to change and erode their willpower to live a healthier lifestyle.  Having the wrong strategy is definitely an obstacle to mindful health.

You need to evaluate your strategy to see if it conforms to the Law of the Harvest or if it is just some wishful thinking leading you astray.  Here are some ways that your strategy may be off track:

• It has unrealistic timelines (i.e. you are expecting too much too soon)
• It has unrealistic measures of success (i.e. these results are not typical)
• It doesn’t allow for a period of adjustment and adaptation
• It doesn’t conform to recognized health standards
• It just seems too good to be true
• It doesn’t include a system for support and encouragement
• It doesn’t acknowledge that change is hard work
• It is not a realistic way to live forevermore

Embracing the wrong strategy will only lead to defeat and discouragement.  There are no shortcuts to a healthier life.  We often buy into snake oil hoping it will cure what ails us, but more often than not it just compounds our problem.  The fastest way to better health is to start a well-founded plan today and stick with it for the rest of your life.

Know Your Enemy to Emerge Victorious

There are many barriers to mindful health, but you can defeat them.  You just have to take some time to identify what you are up against so you can go into battle with your eyes wide-open.  It is what you don’t “see” that can sneak up on you and rob you of your victory.  Arm yourself with this knowledge and you are sure to emerge victorious!

What barriers to mindful health did I miss?

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