If You Haven’t Done It By Now You’re Already Too Late!

jarthur — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:07:31 +0000

If you’ve heard us speak before you know how important it is to set health goals. In fact, many of you are probably starting to think about setting your 2011 goals. Well guess what, you’re already late!

Now, don’t get all flustered yet, because the second best time to start in NOW! You see, it generally takes about 90 days for something new and challenging to become a permanent lifestyle pattern. Steven Covey, who wrote the best-seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, said it takes 21 days to create a new habit. If you are going to something life changing, something worthwhile, it takes time. The first step, though, is determining what is it really, that you want different in your life?

Maybe you are tired of your children having weak immune systems, and are looking for answers to boost their immune system naturally, instead of another round of antibiotics. Maybe you are tired of watching 2 hours of TV every night after work, not to mention the unhealthy meal you ate before watching 2 hours of TV. Possibly you are not planning even one basic weekly activity that you love,which would boost your mood or libido, like dancing, playing basketball, or even doing something artistic like learning a new language, or even planning an exoctic trip with your loved one.

The biggest problem is our priorities. I’m certainly guilty of this too at times. For example, when someone is asked to value in ranking order the 5 most important priorities in their life, it will generally be something like God, Family, and Health in the top three. The funny thing is though, our actions are many times not congruent with this list, I suppose making some of us hypocritical.

If you say family is a major priority, yet haven’t taken a family trip, even for the weekend to Wisconsin, in over a year, then maybe you are off, creating a lot stress in your life due to your incongruency between your priorities and your behavior. Three changes could take place in this example. One, you could say, I’m fine with my life and this is not an incongruency and I don’t need or want to make any change. Two, you could change the rank you give your priority to make it congruent with your behavior. In our example I would say move family to the 14th or 15th most important thing in your life, then you would feel much better about not having taken the family on a trip in over a year. (of course that is bogus, but technically its an option.) Three, change your behavior to match your priority….ding ding ding ding….thats the one!!

It sounds funny to talk these things through, but almost nothing could be more important if you want something better and more purposeful out of anything in your life.

Its our job to give you good guidance and choices about your health, and lead you in a better direction if you so choose. The adjustment removes pressure off of our irritated nervous system caused by the avoidable and unavoidable stresses of life. If you still have family at home who aren’t being adjusted, yet you are, please ask yourself why your health is more of a priority than theirs? I’m sure you really don’t feel that way, but your actions are proving it to be so. Change the behavior or change the priority.

In the coming weeks we will be asking you for your 2011 health goals. Start thinking of them and when we ask, you’ll be ready and we’ll hold you accountable, making 2011 your best year yet!

Do You Want To Be Your Best or Do You Have To Be Your Best?

jarthur — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:29:39 +0000

Dr. Heath McKinley

Do you want to be your best, or do you have to be your best? As we move into 2009 with our respective vision of what life has in store for another year, many of you may be at the brink of another failed New Year’s Resolution. One of the more common questions I like to ask when someone sets a resolution is why are you doing yoga, kickboxing, a cleanse diet, starting chiropractic care, joining a walking group, stretching, taking vitamins, personal training, taking guitarlessons, planning a second baby, buying a new house, starting a new job, quiting your old job, leaving a relationship you currently hate, etc? Are you doing them because you HAVE to or because you WANT to?

Only you really know that answer. The more you feel you HAVE to do as opposed to WANT to do eventually leads to burn out, and another failed, yet well intended resolution. For example, someone may feel that they HAVE to eat vegetables more often or they HAVE to stop drinking diet coke, yet they WANT to have more energy and less headaches. If that person is focusing on the HAVE to stop portion it will most likely be a short lived resolution because they are not focusing on the more abundant vision of the life they actually WANT, a life with more energy and no headaches.

The want stems from purpose. If your purpose is weak, so will your new adopted habit. For example two people may want to exercise more often. The first person has a purpose of “I don’t want to be a size 15 anymore.” The second person has a purpose of “I want to be a great example for my kids so they choose to grow up healthy too, and I’ll have more energy to take on the volunteer activity I’ve always wanted to do but never had the energy.” You see, both want to exercise more, but one WANTS to a lot more than the other! One has a positive purpose, while the other is a little negative in its approach. Neither are wrong, but they will have different results not because of the action, which is the same…exercise, but because of the
purpose behind the action.

I hope these examples give a little clarity for introspection of your 2009 goals. Most people truly do WANT some kind of change to come into their life, but few take the necessary time to evaluate their purpose. I hope you choose to revisit yours as we roll in to 2009!

Much Respect,
Dr. M

McKinley Chiropractic» Goals

If You Haven’t Done It By Now You’re Already Too Late!

Do You Want To Be Your Best or Do You Have To Be Your Best?