If You Don’t Take Care Of You, Who Will?

Face it, ladies, we have a natural predisposition to take care of others. Usually to the point that we put others before the care of ourselves. The problem with this is…if you don’t take care of you, who will?

Then there are those elusive Somedays. “When the kids go off to college, I’ll have time to join a health club.” “As soon as we’re done with this big project at the office, I’ll start bringing a lunch instead of grabbing fast food.” The sad truth about Someday is that it never just magically happens. Someday has to be created.

Take a look at yourself, right now, as you’re reading this. Do you have a headache? Are your shoulders tight? Back hurt? Do you have some indigestion or heartbu
? Are you eating a Big Mac? What’s your pant size today? What was it last year? You get the point. If you keep waiting another five years for Someday, what will your pant size be? Five years from now, will people say you look good or confuse you for your kids’ grandmother?

You don’t have to wait for a Someday. In fact, you don’t need perfect circumstances to have a positive impact on your health. Little changes can grow into a big difference.

Make a commitment to yourself. Right now, let’s find a small, easy step you can take to take control of your health. Grab a piece of paper. Draw a large circle. Divide that circle into 8 sections so it looks like a pie. Now on the outside of the circle start labeling each section. Diet/Nutrition. Exercise. Stress Management. Sleep. Weight. Health Habits (regular checkups, smoking, drinking). Fun/Recreation. Happiness.

At the very center of the circle, where all the lines connect, put a 0 and at the outer edge of the circle put a 10. Take a look at each slice of your pie and rate your satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10 for each category, with 10 being very satisfied. Make a line across each wedge that represents your level of satisfaction. Now take a look at your lines. Do you have a circle within a circle or is your wheel all jagged? If this were a wheel on your car how far would you get down the road?

If you were to choose a category from your wheel that you’d most like to make a change in, which one would it be? It doesn’t have to be the one you scored the lowest in, just the one you most want to start with.

What number did you rate in that category? What does life at that number look like? Are there limitations in your life because of it?

If you don’t make a change and you stay at that number, what will happen in your life? Do you like what you see?

Now if you could make the necessary changes in your life to take your current level of satisfaction in this area to a 10, what would you get? How would you feel about yourself? Would new opportunities open for you?

What needs to happen to move you from your current number to the next number?

What is the one single thing that is currently standing in the way of you being able to increase your satisfaction in this area? What needs to happen in order for you to move past it?

What is one small baby step that you know you absolutely cannot fail at that will help you get to that next level of satisfaction?

Are you willing to do it? When will you do it?

There you go. If you’ve done every step of this exercise, you now have a small, easy step that puts you in control of your health. Small changes now lead to a healthier you in the future.