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Mr B.B. King said it himself...
Those are some powerful words, Mr King.
Let them settle with you for a minute.
WHATEVER you learn is YOURS.
Yours forever....
Our health and our health practices are ALL TOO OFTEN associated with FAILURE. But when it comes to our health, failure is a myth. It's not real ladies and gentleman of the jury...
-If you're TRYING to better your health, you're NOT failing!
-If you're TRYING to create better daily health practices, you're NOT failing!
-If you're seeking advice and support from health professionals such as your doctor, physio, fitness coach, chiropractor etc, you're NOT failing.
-If you're even just THINKING about how you can do something a little bit better for your health, you're NOT failing.
The only "failure" is NO ACTION at all. If you're doing SOMETHING for your health, if you're ACTING in your health's best interest, you're well on your way to pure awesomeness!!
LEARNING on the other hand, is VERY REAL.
Health has no "end game". It's a lifelong endeavour. It's a WAY OF LIVING. It's not a 6-week or 6-month adventure. There are ups and downs. The UPs give us the boosts to keep loving what we're doing for ourselves, while the downs are opportunities to see what works / doesn't work for ourselves at that point in our lives. What worked 10-years ago won't necessary work today. In most cases it won't. That's ok. You learn, you adjust, you continue to take action for your health. It's all good!!
A client who is dealing with high blood pressure, high stress and has found herself feeling like she's taken a step back in her routines. We've been working with her nutrition over the past week with a food journal (snapping a picture and sending it through the app) so we can get a snapshot (pun intended) of her eating habits. In the first week a few things were clear...
1) She eats more vegetables than she thinks (she "says she doesn't like them").
2) She eats a nice variety of foods overall (more than she thinks)
3) She often reaches for cheeses and processed/fatty meats on a regular basis
Between her lack of stress management tools (which we're in the process of improving) AND her high fat/high sodium "go-to's" we now have learned two major contributors to her blood pressure concerns. (Call me Holmes... Sherlock Holmes)
A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A NON-FAILURE
Let's break this example down into steps here to show how ACTION is NOT failure and how LEARNING is the reality when it comes to our health:
1) Client recognizes she needs help and support with her concerns - SUCCESS
2) Client reaches out to her old coach for that help and support - SUCCESS
3) Client and Coach discuss and agree to start with a food journal to get a picture of her eating habits, and begin to create small opportunities for managing stress on a daily basis - SUCCESS
4) Client follows through with these two tasks on a daily basis - SUCCESS
5) Client and Coach uncover areas that can begin to be changed/worked with in order to help improve blood pressure concerns and stress levels - SUCCESS
5-ACTION points, where ALL created progress and success by taking action. But take one ACTION away from this client, others may have not happened. As I constantly emphasize to my clients, small progressive steps create big change. In this example with this client, by taking these 5-action steps (in only 1-2 weeks) we've LEARNED what our next step(s) need to be. Taking action with small progressive steps again, will lead her to reduced stress levels and reduced blood pressure levels!! THOSE ARE BIG CHANGES that only are coming BECAUSE she took action and LEARNED. Love it!!!