"The choices we make dictate the life we lead. To thy own self be true."
-Danny DeVito
Our lifestyle choices will dictate the quality of life we live. What may sometimes appear inconsequential now may lead to unfavorable circumstances or exceptional outcomes. We orchestrate our life path with the power of these daily steps and decisions. When we take the time to make small choices just as important as big ones, we dictate our future and create an optimal quality of life for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
A desire to improve our quality of life begins with putting our current lifestyle habits under a microscope and looking honestly at our repetitive daily routines. Self-evaluation is not always an easy or comfortable experience for us to walk through. However, it is necessary to determine the best action steps for improvement. As a health coach, I prioritize understanding each client's personal life situation as much as possible. When I learn more about their life circumstances, consistent routines, current challenges, reoccurring roadblocks, and personal improvement goals, I can provide appropriate small actions to help them begin their journey toward better health and wellness.
This month's focus on self-evaluation begins with a look at lifestyle habits, the first pillar of good health. Before we dive into evaluating this pillar, we must understand it.
What does the word lifestyle mean?
The term lifestyle refers to the habits, attitudes, behaviors, moral standards, living conditions, and economic level of an individual or group that constitutes a typical living mode determined by circumstance or personal choice.
What are habits?
Habits are specific routines, common tendencies, or behavior practices that can become nearly or completely involuntary. These recurrent and often unconscious behavior patterns develop through repetition over time, and why old habits are hard to break. Old habits become so ingrained into our lives and intertwined with our identity that a change in habit can sometimes be perceived as a loss of self. For this reason, many struggle to implement the actions that promote better health and would instead seek security in familiar habits than make the initial effort to do something different. Even if something different results in better health and wellness over time, remaining comfortable in the known is more effortless than venturing into unfamiliar and new positive daily actions.
Observe only the facts:
When taking stock of our lifestyle habits, looking at it from an outsider's perspective is crucial. It is easier for us to see the faults in others that we do not see in ourselves. Being objective, honest, and truthful while being compassionate, accepting, and understanding is not easy for many of us when looking at others, let alone ourselves. This self-evaluation of current lifestyle habits must not be a judgment or ranking of how well you are doing in life but more assessing factual data without any emotion or opinion about it; look at only the facts for what they are.
While reviewing your lifestyle from an outsider's perspective, it is equally essential to consider the things you routinely do day after day. The actions we do consistently have the most significant effect on our future outcomes, not what we occasionally do.
How to self-evaluate your current lifestyle:
Take time to remove yourself from the many distractions of modern life, set aside a block of quiet time, and get to know yourself from a deeper perspective. During this "self-time," review the contents of your consistent day-to-day actions simply for what they are, how they make you feel both physically and emotionally, and begin thinking about what aspects of life are most important to you. Understanding what is most important to us will also help determine our priorities and how we spend our time daily.
Here are some no-judgment self-analysis questions that may help you through the self-evaluation of your current lifestyle habits:
What is my typical morning routine?
What time do I typically get up in the morning, and how do I get up?
Do I set the alarm and jump out of bed when it goes off, or do I continuously hit the snooze button?
Do I wake up naturally without an alarm and enjoy a slow morning?
Do I have a weekday morning routine versus a weekend morning routine?
What do I consistently do after waking up?
What is my typical bedtime routine?
Do I have a consistent bedtime, fall asleep on the couch watching evening TV or stay up too late on electronic devices?
How is my typical quality of sleep?
Do I sleep soundly or have trouble falling or staying asleep?
Do I feel rested or tired all day?
What are my typical habits at work, at home, with family, and in my social circles?
Continue reviewing the contents of your typical daily routines and become aware of those repetitive actions you have purposefully or unintentionally built into your lifestyle. You can write down your thoughts in a journal or mull them over as you become more aware of your habitual behaviors.
Although it is part of our hurried modern lifestyle to want to rush ahead to the next thing to do, I am asking you instead to slow down and just let this new awareness of your lifestyle habits percolate over the next four weeks. Continue simply reviewing your routines and behaviors and becoming aware and conscious about how you live your life. The more open and honest you can be with yourself, the better prepared you will be for the upcoming May focus as we transition forward on the journey to improved health, fitness, and wellness.
Next week Sunday, we will continue our monthly focus and practice of self-evaluation by shining the spotlight on the second pillar of good health, exercise!
Make this week positive, give yourself some grace, and enjoy your life's journey!
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