Change is a Mental Game.

Making lifestyle changes is fundamentally a mental journey. Ancient traditions all indicate that the body follows the mind. This is why mindfulness practice is so important to holistic health and establishing a more healthy lifestyle. With the awareness gained from mindfulness, the external world starts transforming as a result. Your perception changes, and then the world outside starts to shift. Things that once were hard or seemed impossible are now possible.

Enhancing Awareness: The first step to change.

• The Power of Choice: Change begins with conscious decisions. Meditation gives us more awareness of the subtle hidden influences in our mind. When we become aware, our obstacles, blocks, fears and weaknesses become transparent, helping us deal with and overcome them. If we can see what’s out of balance, we can effectuate a change. Every situation we are in, we had a hand in being there. At some level, we choose it. When you can come to terms with your own hand in your life outcomes, you can use that hand to make a change. Doing so creates different outcomes.
• Consistent Effort: The paths we take are determined by our choices, commitments, and persistence. Science shows that small incremental changes last longer that drastic, all of a sudden changes.
• Mental Shift: When our perspectives change through awareness, so do our desires. What once attracted us now seems unappealing, not aligning with our quest for well-being.
• Recognition of Discomfort: Certain indulgences cause more harm than good. Recognizing this marks a turning point. Doing something different is confronting and uncomfortable. Making different choices may cause more hassle and impede forward progress in other areas for a bit. You might even run into opposition from people and situations in your life. Acknowledge that this is a natural part of change. It’s your body’s way of maintaining status quo for homeostasis. We honor that by taking the turtle’s approach. One step at a time. These realizations makes avoidance of bad habits and poor health decisions not only easier but also rewarding. You are building confidence and spiritual fortitude for every different choice you make. If you have trouble breaking free from long standing bad habit strongholds, get help. The wisdom traditions say, where 2 or 3 are gathered, any change can be made. There are many avenues to treat and recover from addictions of all kinds.

Flipping the Biofeedback Loop:

• Before: Indulgences offer temporary pleasure but ultimately lead to discomfort.
• After: Rejecting bad habits and toxic foods becomes rewarding. It aligns with our deeper desires for health and well being. It also contributes to a fullness of life.

From Hoping to Knowing:

• If only changing due to external advice, or temporary negative situations, actions are fueled by hope and inconsistency. It’s dependent on your belief in the person or system you are adhering to or your temporary state of discomfort. This is less sustainable.
• A mental shift towards personal conviction and self-awareness transforms this hope in others into certainty in your own experience. This is because you have put your own time into learning about your health. You have your own experience of paying attention to how you really feel and what you really think. Awareness will help you connect with your subconscious body which is always trying to communicate with your conscious mind. This gives you your faith and certainty. It’s an experience, not a belief.

How to Achieve This Transformation:

1. Honest Introspection: It begins with a deep, honest look at our motivations and desires. This is where the practice of daily 5-10mins of meditative stillness & quiet awareness. It’s a skill that has to be practiced. No one is good at it initially. Use journaling to keep notes of insights or ideas that come to you in stillness. They may be enlightening.
2. Willingness to Change: Being open to recalibrating our mental framework is essential. When you are adopting a new life habit, it’s going to affect your daily life. Dropping an old toxic habit is also going to affect your daily habits. If you are living with others, you may have to communicate that you are changing a few things. If you work closely in a team, you may need to communicate these changes. This way, they won’t worry if you were taken over by aliens when you bring in the salad.
3. Alignment of Actions and Values: Our actions must reflect our deepest values for true change to occur. You must take the time to understand what you are doing. You must also understand why you are doing it. Only then will you get closer to your dreams. If you aren’t completely relying on what someone else said, you will get closer to your desires and goals. Your roadmaps and guides are within you. Find the still, quiet place inside. Therein lies your power and ability to transform yourself and your life. The mind changes first. The body follows.

In summary, the essence of sustainable lifestyle change lies within our mental landscape. By training our minds towards stillness, we can align our actions with our willpower. Through that process, we transition from mere hope to unwavering certainty. This mental awareness paves the way for lasting change, proving that when the mind leads, the body follows.

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