I've seen the statement far too many times. I've personally said the statement too many times:

"I'm going to be healthy"

The more I work with people, the more I realize that everybody sees "health" as an end goal. It's become this mystical creature that only becomes possible through hard work in the gym, eating nothing but vegetables and lean meats, meditating 10 minutes per day, and getting the "required" 8-hours of sleep per night. This is on top of the many things you're told you should avoid, like processed sugar, alcohol, too much caffeine, all-night benders, and sitting for too long.

As mystical as it may be, health is not as complicated as the media has made it out to be. Rather than looking at health as a goal, I offer you the opportunity to look at health as this:

A PRACTICE

You see, I struggled with this idea at first, thinking that the MORE I did the better off I would be. I could: workout 6X per week, eat 10 servings of vegetables per day, drink nothing but water, get outside for some fresh air 2 hours per day, and sleep 8-hours per night. (Whew! That's a lot of stuff to keep track of!)

"Health is a HABIT and not a DESTINATION"

Let's be brutally honest, 90% of people in North America are not practicing habits that are making them healthier than they were 10 minutes ago, let alone 10 months or 10 years ago. We fall into the trap that we must go ALL IN completely in order to arrive at health. This is simply not true.

Going ALL IN to get healthy is overwhelming, frustrating, and unbelievably outdated. The proof lies in the almost 85% of people who start all over again each new year with the same broad, watered down goal of booking their bus ticket to "healthy."

People get frustrated with complicated. People love SIMPLE. This fact is what makes humans such amazing creatures. When we finally realize that the more we can simplify even the most complicated things, like changing our eating habits, we can relax and just focus on the habit at hand - one day at a time.

Being healthy is a practice, just like mastering our chosen paths in our careers, driving a car, riding a bike, or learning how to ice skate. We can choose to be healthy RIGHT NOW and stop telling ourselves "I'll get there someday." Today you can choose:

-To include 1 more vegetable into your meals, maybe in a smoothie

-To drink 1 more glass of water than you did yesterday

-To go to sleep 1 more hour than you did yesterday, which may require you to turn off electronics or noise before bed

-To go outside for a a 15 minute walk

-To buy smaller plates for your house to reduce portion sizes, then try eating slower

-To prepare your lunch for work instead of relying on fast food

You see, you could do ALL of these things right now - but you don't have to. You can choose ONE and start practicing with ruthless intent, knowing that eventually that ruthless intent will lead to an effortless habit.

Take responsibility for the fact that the more you practice something, the better you inevitably get, assuming you're practicing the right things. If your state of health isn't where you see it, you've been practicing the wrong things. To get on the right track, you need to.....wait for it......

PRACTICE THE RIGHT THINGS

Need some more ideas on what to practice? Check out this awesome article on CONSUMING THE ALMIGHTY VEGETABLE HERE:

http://www.tfwsouthmetro.com/warrior-blog/5vegetables

Getting outside is HEALTHY!  Do it often! — Getting outside is HEALTHY! Do it often!

Salads don't have to be boring.  Spice it up with nuts, seeds, fruits, and vinaigrette dressings! — Salads don't have to be boring. Spice it up with nuts, seeds, fruits, and vinaigrette dressings!