‌Working your way to better health is not a goal, it’s a continuous journey where you never reach your destination. It has to be achievable and sustainable. There will be hard times to navigate and it will be important to find your way back to the baseline over and over again.

‌However, if are constantly thinking about how to have more energy, do the things you love, stay alive and love life then it’s all worth it. It’s not about recognition, like it is when you reach a goal, it’s about seeing the results, however small and building on them step by step.

Victoria Monét (in her acceptance speech at the 2024 Grammy Awards) likened herself to a plant. She talked about planting the seed and then needing to nurture that seed, water it, feed it, keep it in the right place and then watching and waiting while nothing happens for weeks or months. That’s us. That’s just like our health.

We can put in the work, the good food, the water, the exercise, the supplements and feel like we don’t see the results. But the results may take a while to show themselves. Sometimes they are obvious: weight loss, drop in blood sugar, reduction in cholesterol, lower blood pressure, sometimes it can take a long time for them to reveal themselves.‌

That seed of a thought that is nagging you daily to tell you that you need to do something to help you stay healthy, doesn’t feel that important right now so you keep ignoring it until, like me, it shouts and screams at you so you can’t ignore it any longer.

Let me implore you not to wait that long, it’s so much easier to manage these things before they get to that level which could take years to recover from.

‌What’s that thought for you right now? Is it “I’ve been feeling more tired lately” Or “I’ve been eating more sugar recently.” It might be “I feel heavy” or is that inner voice “Oh go on, have another cake, it won’t hurt”. That seed of doubt that you’re ignoring could be the key to your long-term health – for better or for worse!

‌Stop questioning and allow yourself to grow, to develop better health.

Remember that plant, keep watering and feeding it, keep it warm and sheltered and it will grow strong and beautiful. If you don’t it will wilt and die or it may never even manage to sprout.

What is it you really want?

Write about it, really visualise it, see yourself in 1, 5, and 10 years. Now prove it, do all you can to commit to your health. If you are complaining about your lack of energy, your cravings, or the weight around your middle then stop complaining. Use the energy you have to take action.

What I know is that taking control of your health is empowering and immensely satisfying. I see it constantly in clients.

Take Sarah who came to me having had Type 2 Diabetes for 12 years. She said she was doing everything to help herself and didn’t know what more she could do to get her blood sugars under control. 8 months later her sugars are down and in her last consultation with me she asked “Do you think I can get rid of Diabetes altogether?”. She was so excited when the Diabetes Nurse called her in to discuss reducing her medication even further. Her journey started with small things to help her health, then we added some more small things and the progress started to show.

When I was in my late 40s I spent a whole lot of time complaining about what was going on around me, about other people’s behaviour and the lack of support I was receiving. I complained about how I was feeling, the lack of energy, the anxiety, the extra weight. It took me 2 years and an episode of serious illness to force me to take action.

In writing this blog today, I am trying to prevent that from happening to you.

Please, please, please, just get started, you will never get anywhere unless you take that first step on your journey.

And guess what? If it’s hard and you lose your way, just take the next step, if it’s too hard to do on your own. Then get some help, please, because if you don’t, who knows what will happen?

If you’re still struggling then try this –

  • Think of a time when you felt really good.
  • Imagine every detail of it, write it down, and see it in your mind’s eye.
  • What colours are you seeing?
  • Are there any shapes associated with it?
  • How do you feel?
  • Now, take the energy from that feeling and use it to help you take your first step toward better health.

Another thought is being thankful, saying thank you for the good things in your day. Be grateful for what you have rather than worrying about what you don’t have. Write it down, every day, at least once, especially just before you go to bed. You’ll be amazed how much easier it is to make positive changes when you do.

Your body and mind work so closely together. If you use these simple ideas to help you, it will be easier to take your first step to better health.

What will you do next?

When will you take that first step? NOW?

If you’re struggling to decide what that step should be then ask. I’d be happy to help. Many people find their 30-minute FREE consultation with me to be a great way to find out what that first step could be.