Today’s post will complete my three-part theme on the ABC’s of Health. This particular article will examine the importance of your personal commitment to a healthier lifestyle.

My favorite definition for personal commitment comes from Wikipedia: “a pledge or promise to ones’ self for personal growth.” Without a doubt, no meaningful lifestyle decisions or lasting changes will be made without that pledge to yourself, especially as you choose to adopt your latest crop of New Year’s Resolutions.

And here we are, it’s the first week of 2010 and the pressure is building to complete that transformative set of “personal habits.” After all, it’s the start of a new decade, the economy appears to be thawing and after all, what do you have to lose but those habits that trouble you anyway!

As I’ve noted in my earlier posts, based on my personal experience, the ABC’s of Health are the foundation for creating and sustaining change in our lifestyle. They are as follows:

• What is your “Attitude” regarding life, in general?…
• What are your “Beliefs” about your overall health status, and?…
• What is your “Commitment” to supporting your personal growth?…

Please keep in mind, it is our ability to make these personal commitments to change that become the internal flywheel for enabling the shift to happen – this pledge to ourselves is what propels us to make those adjustments in our daily behavior… But despite the power of that pledge, the statistics regarding the outcome of change efforts are more than daunting.

I recently read one of the classic articles from Fast Company magazine, entitled “Change or Die.” In this excellent article, Alan Deutschman profiles some staggering statistics about the average person’s ability to attain lasting change:

• Six weeks into the new year, 80 percent of people have already broken their New Years resolutions or can’t even remember them anymore;
• A National Institutes for Health study found that 97 percent of people who lose weight wind up gaining it all back within five years; and
• 90 percent of patients with severe heart disease fail to change their unhealthy lifestyles even after their doctors tell them that they’re in a “change or die” situation.

This last study is particularly arresting in its significance. Even though faced with the prospect of near certain death, the overwhelming majority of individuals elect not to change their lifestyle. Clearly, this resistance to change is a multi-factorial issue, but at some level there is a total lack of a personal commitment on the part of the individual to improve themselves or nuture their personal growth. And thus our focus for this week.

But please don’t misunderstand, I’m not naïve enough to think that “willpower” alone will overcome all obstacles that surface during the course of one’s life. As noted in my prior articles, there are attitudinal and belief issues at play, not to mention more significant emotional/psychological issues that might be creating this resistance to personal growth.

That said, let’s approach this issue with a somewhat down-to-earth approach. As in my prior posts, outlined below are a series of questions about your habits that will give you some practical insight into your personal commitment towards leading a healthier lifestyle. This test is more directional than statistically tested, but it is designed to assess where your day-to-day actions are and just how much they may be affecting your health status.

Here is the quick survey of health habits (as well as a scoring key) to assess your “commitment quotient,” or said another way, how dedicated are you to your personal health & growth? In some respects, think of these parameters as a leading indicator of your ability to make the kinds of behavioral changes that might be implied in your resolutions.

1. Do you stay within your daily caloric intake?                      ____ Yes         ____ No
2. Do you consistently read labels on the foods you buy?   ____ Yes         ____ No
3. Do you move vigorously (exercise) for 30 min daily?     ____ Yes         ____ No
4. Do you meditate for 20 min regularly?                                   ____ Yes         ____ No
5. Do limit your daily intake of TV to a minimum?                 ____ Yes         ____ No
6. Do you drink 6-8 glasses of water daily?                                ____ Yes         ____ No
7. Do you limit your intent of alcohol?                                        ____ Yes         ____ No
8. Do you read regularly for entertainment or education? ____ Yes         ____ No
9. Do you engage regularly in your favorite hobby?             ____ Yes         ____ No
10. Do you fast or have you ever detoxed before?                   ____ Yes         ____ No

Now, just like before, please take a moment and assess your commitment about taking steps to improve your health. Based on my client experience, if you are practicing fewer than 3-4 of these habits, it’s likely that you lack sufficient commitment to your growth.

Again, the responses to these 10 questions are not statistically proven to demonstrate a “preferred” level of commitment. But what they highlight are your daily health practices. Good health is a function of the many small decisions and actions we take day-by-day. It’s not a pill, it’s not your genes and it’s certainly not luck! And while I have no absolute evidence to prove this, I would suggest that if you are engaged in the majority of these activities, your likelihood of beating the odds noted above from the “Change or Die” article will increase.

A number of years ago I committed to running a marathon, following 50 years of limited activity. And people’s first reaction is “I could never run 26 miles!” But what many fail to realize that the actual run is preceded by 500 miles of training. It, too, becomes a day-by-day habit of training your body to endure that kind of mileage. And yes, I did complete it, but certainly wasn’t the fastest guy in the field – and not even the fastest 50 year old! But I did cross the finish line and it changed my life forever. The whole concept of boundaries and daily discipline were never the same.

So a reasonable conclusion to draw from this post is that if you are not happy with your current health status, whether it be your weight, your level of stress, or your level of physical activity, then it might be time to test your level of commitment to your personal growth as profiled above. What Alan Deutschman concluded from his study of successful change is the importance of joining a group or community that will support your desire for change. One such community that I can recommend in the Liberation Wellness Support Group that is dedicated to helping individuals succeed in their diet of real food.

So study your resolutions for a moment. How realistic are they, particularly in light of your day-to-day health habits? How consistent are they with other change efforts that you’ve successfully achieved in the past? Be honest with yourself and my suggestion is that you only commit yourself to resolutions that you are reasonable certain are within your grasp and habit pattern to fulfill. You’ll feel a whole lot better, and you’ll feel a whole lot better about yourself!

And now it’s time to get started with that “diet” or “exercise plan.” Hopefully, you’re a bit more aware of how your attitudes, beliefs and commitments do affect your ability to succeed with your 2010 Resolutions! Gaining mastery over your “commitments” is the final key to creating a powerful context for that new level of health and well-being that we’re all seeking.

Thank you, again, for taking a few moments to “size yourself up,” and for reflecting on the factors that might be shaping and influencing your current health habits.

À votre bonne santé