To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize, then plan…then believe…and then act!
Stages of Visualization
Today we continue to work on your visualization. You are now on Newsletter 32 and things are getting serious. You are being asked to do a lot. You are thinking about changing the food you eat, exercising, drinking water, vital nutrient supplementation, weight management and your Checklist grow. It is getting tougher and the reasons not to follow through increase.
I can hear you now: I don’t have the time! This is too much! I don’t like doing this!
After all, you have been down this path before. You wanted to get better and you started with some plan or another, and you didn’t follow through. Many are doing just that again, or they will pick and choose certain parts of the program and not do that part at all.
Great! We are back to the beginning. If you do what you have always done, you get what you have always gotten. Don’t you want things different this time? Also, what will it look like later if you don’t make changes?
If you want different, you have to be motivated to act different. You cannot be motivated with the same thinking you have always had. You have to change the thinking. The way to change the thinking and to keep motivated is with visualization.
Our brains are motivated by progress. If we do not see and feel progress, we lose our motivation. If you know how long you have to go and you can see your progress, you can find the energy to keep going. You can see with each minute that you are getting closer.
To keep motivation it is imperative to attach action to desired results.
However, having the wrong goals results in a loss of motivation!
After a while no matter how much you progress you will stop, because you just think the goal is too far. Whether you made one or ten steps, you do not see yourself getting any closer to your goals, despite all your effort.
Now if I told you to take so many steps and let you watch all the indicators, you would both stay motivated with every step, because you see the indicators showing your progress toward a known goal, and you would believe you could get there, because the goal is not so far. Therefore, you would stay motivated and stick with it.
The way to visualize change is in the Stages to Change Model. Know the end result you want, and then start developing a mental picture of you reaching your goal and focus on that throughout your day. See yourself at your goal as you follow all the items on the Checklist. As you go through the days you will see yourself getting there, and you will get there. Each time you hit one visualization goal then create the next goal step. Keep going until you hit your final goal.
As you use your visualization pictures see yourself as you are. Then create mental stages in your mind in increments of results, and play it like a movie going back and forth. As you develop this skill, you will keep going and get the results you want!
The art of visualization will motivate you, energize you and help you overcome obstacles. When you do not think you can, you find that extra ounce of energy deep down inside you. Train Your Mind to see your future life as the success you want it to be. The great thing is when you believe your visualizations; you enjoy the process of making it happen along the way.
Today, visualize achieving your goals. Continue doing the same routine with enthusiasm!
Success is not instant; it comes in stages. Visualize the stages to your success.
What Will My Health Look Like If I Don’t Change
Balance the Costs and Benefits of Changing
Decide what you want for health, decide what you are willing to exchange for it, establish your priorities and results you want and go in to Action!
If you do what you have always done you get what you have always gotten.
Did You?
Listen, you decided you wanted change and if you really want change you have to be willing to do things differently.
To Be: I choose to stop procrastinating
I choose to stop procrastinating I choose to step into health and wellness I chose to be a better listenerTo Do:
Come up with five reasons why you can’t change and be successful.
Enter them here:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I’m on you’re side. You need to be there too!
The newsletter was designed for you to implement changes into your thinking and life style day-by-day and week-by-week, which will allow you to have health and fitness or lose weight and develop a new sense of control, allowing you to achieve and maintain your wellness and body goals.
You have to willing to take on your old patterns and actually do things differently.
Today you are asked to change! Your normal thinking is to resist. You will think, I am not this or that or I want to have more, or, I’ll do my best but its okay if I skip it here and there. It won’t make that big a difference.
Any thought you have that is not following your visualization change are the same thoughts that got you to resist and you don’t want. You have to follow the visualization and you have to change your thinking. So make sure you get up tomorrow morning and state your morning affirmations out loud three times. You can do it. You can change your thinking and you can change your health.
Repeat the following affirmations out loud three times every morning when you wake up:
1. I love my body
2. I love myself as I am and I am making myself better every day.
What does it Cost
A cost-benefit analysis is a process used to determine the merits of a plan or idea by quantifying its costs and benefits.
As the name suggests, people add up the costs (expenses) of taking a particular course of action and weigh them against the expected benefits that will occur.
Cost-benefit analysis is a widely used tool for deciding whether or not to make a change. Since people exist to make a gain or improve, there must be a clear indication of a payoff for taking an action.
Cost-benefit analysis can also be a motivational tool when deciding whether or not to take action to improve your health. Researchers who study behavior change refer to the process of weighing the pros and cons of changing behavior as decisional balance. The decision to take action to change is based upon the relative weight given to pros (advantages of changing behavior) and cons (negative aspects of changing behavior or any obstacles to change).
In the Stages of Change Model, there are five stages of readiness to change.
These stages are:
precontemplation (no intention to change in the next 6 months)
contemplation (intention to change in the next 6 months)
preparation (intention to change in the next 30 days)
action (change made less than six months ago)
maintenance (change made more than six months ago).
Decisional balance can be visualized as a scale, with the negative aspects of changing (costs) on one side and the positives of changing (benefits) on the other. If the sides are equally balanced, the scale will not move (make a change). On the other hand, if you add more weight to either side, an imbalance will occur and the side with the most weight will drop down.
In the precontemplation stage of change, the cons always far outweigh the pros because people do not even recognize a need to change at this point.
As they become more aware of the advantages of changing in the contemplation and preparation stages, the pros gradually increase in importance until they eventually outweigh the cons prior to taking action.
At the maintenance stage, it is important to keep decisional balance weighted toward the pros to prevent a relapse (reversion back to smoking, poor eating habits or not being proactive with your health and wellness).
Decisions to change behavior affect, not only the person making the change, but others with whom they interact like friends or family. Thus, behavior change experts suggest considering all of the following factors when listing the pros and cons of making a change (decisional balance):
>Consequences of making a change to oneself.>Consequences of making a personal change on other people.>Reactions of oneself to a change.>Reactions of others to a change.Now that you understand the concept of decisional balance, let’s explore the advantages of making positive changes to your health. You will also have an opportunity to list your personal obstacles on the worksheets provided below.
Advantages of making behavior changes to improve health include the following:
Quitting Smoking:
>Improved health and reduced risk for heart disease, cancer, >Saving money that was previously spent on an unhealthy habit. >Spouse/friends/doctor will stop nagging about changing an unhealthy behavior Weight Loss
>Clothing will fit better >More energy >Vanity…will look better and feel better.>ncreased self esteem.>Increased sense of control over life by succeeding in efforts to change an unhealthy behavior.>Won’t feel like a statistic anymore like one of the 2/3 of Americans who are overweight or obese>Positive role model for children.Are the costs of making a change worth it? Use the Decisional Balance-Health worksheets, below, to weigh the pros and cons of taking action to improve your health. Complete each section of each worksheet to clarify your thoughts and feelings.
Decisional Balance-Health
Proposed Behavior Change:
Changing BehaviorNot Changing BehaviorBenefits
Costs
Action Steps
Health
>Research recommended health behaviors to learn about the positive aspects of changing.>Talk to someone who has made the same health change you are considering to learn more about it.>To learn more about wellness and the missing vital nutrients order:
