“The truth is, I am what I am today because of what I believed about myself yesterday.
And I will be tomorrow what I believe about myself right now.”
- - Joel Osteen
I have found that being healthy is a choice. Eating right, being dedicated to a work-out routine, and taking care of the bodies that God has given us are all choices that are well within our grasps. Going to church, watching television, going to the grocery store, and even accepting Christ are all choices that we make. You can choose to be overweight, stressed, out of shape, and even depressed. But I have found that it’s just as easy to choose to do something positive as it is to do something negative. In other words, it’s just as easy to choose to be healthy, relaxed, focused, and in good health as it is to be unhealthy, stressed, dismayed, and in bad health. It’s all about a choice. Did you know that today you are defined by the sum total of all the decisions you have made up to this point in your life? That’s who you are. Our future is shaped by our decisions. Now ask yourself, is that who you want to be?
The answer is probably no. We all have things we want to do differently. People tell me all the time, “Lee, I’ve tried to lose weight . . . I just can’t seem to do anything about it.” My response is all of us have the very same decisions to make. We choose what we eat, when we eat, how much we eat, and how frequently we eat. It’s not that we can’t, it’s that we have chosen not to. We get in a habit and habits are hard to break. We need to learn to develop new habits that will be more beneficial to our lives. The Apostle Paul said that, “everything is permissible for me but not everything is beneficial.” After all, our habits shape our future and determine the outcome of our goals. Well you may be thinking that you have tried to set goals before and it never worked out.
The problem with failed goals is that we see weight loss as one huge number. And it’s discouraging when you think about it that way. The solution: Achievements are made in small increments over a longer period of time. For example, instead of losing 50 lbs. in a whole year, focus on losing 2 pounds a week. The overwhelming number of 50 can be quite intimidating.
One of the key factors I tell all of my clients that train with me, “Envision your success.” Envision yourself 6 months down the road knowing how much better you’ll feel, how much better you’ll look, and how much healthier your body will be. You need to keep that mental imagery with you at all times. This comes in handy when you’re thinking about giving in. The overwhelming mountain that stands in front of you will defeat you every time if you dwell on it. The Bible tells us we have to look through the seen to the unseen. Envision your unseen success. Call those things that aren’t as though they were.
More importantly you need a game plan. If you fail to plan you might as well plan on failing. You need to know how many calories you are taking in and how many you should be taking in. You need to know where you are in relation to where you want to be. If you don’t know where you are, how in the world will you figure out where you are going?
Everyone always tells me “I need to get back in the gym … I need to do better… I need… I need … I need...” We all have to prepare ourselves at one point to move but eventually move we must. We need to ask God to give us the strength to do things necessary to move ahead with more positive decisions. But, prayer alone will not do it. Prayer releases the favor of God while work releases the force of man. No matter how much we pray it still takes effort. However, when the two come together they become unstoppable. If you’re ready to see the fruit, you’ve got to be willing to till the garden. Weeds grow everywhere and they will choke out our dreams if we let them. Today do a simple inventory of your life and write down what needs to go and want needs to stay. Then pray about what direction you should be going in, set small goals, envision your success, and know that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
Healthfully Yours,
Lee Campbell
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