Article dated August 17, 2005

10 Steps You Can Take Now To Be Healthy

In our fast-paced lifestyles, it is too easy to forget the basics for living a healthy, happy and balanced life. Here are some hints and reminders for Possibility Living: pick an area on which to focus to create the greatest improvements for you, or an area where you can see quick successes to build your confidence in making more positive changes.

1. Listen to your heart and body. Tune in to your inner self. Ask yourself what you need to do to lovingly care for yourself. Start by resting or taking a power nap when tired. Eat when you are hungry. If not eating, take small high nutritious meals (like a high energy soy protein-fresh fruit shake) several times a day, and if over-eating or eating things that do not nurture your cells, ask yourself what it is you are needing (besides food). A "No" to others may be a "Yes" to you. The more you tune in and honor your inner messages, the more your inner spirit will guide your pathway. As you listen to your spirit/heart, you will discover what your body needs and wants. If you do not take care of your body-home, where will the Real You live? And what quality of life will be yours, now and in years to come?
2. Say "NO". Examine your values. Plan your life to reflect your values, so you can let go of your own internal shoulds and oughts and have-tos, which reflect others' values. It isn't selfish to take care of yourself first --follow the guidelines that the airlines give when flying: adults should put on their own oxygen mask first before helping a child. How can you give (Your) water of life from an empty cup? Create (write out) realistic boundaries for yourself, based on your values, and stick to them. Affirm your Divine right to respect your own values, needs, purpose, goals, and desires.
3. Care for your physical body. Stress takes a very high toll on the body systems. Ways to minimize the effects of stress are to: Take a high quality balanced food supplement made by a company that has quality standards, testing, and peer-reviewed clinical research to prove you are getting what you pay for. * Drink a minimum of eight glasses of pure water every day. Eat a daily diet of adequate low fat protein like soy/tofu and fish and lean meat, high fiber (to cleanse the body of wastes), 2-4 servings of fresh fruit daily, 3-5 servings of fresh vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid sugar, caffeine, white flour, and processed foods. Exercise several (3-5) times a week. Stress is relieved with physical exercise and activity, and the mind is calmed as the brain releases endorphins, an internal mood elevator that gives a natural high. Get adequate sleep and rest. When in crises, you need more sleep to allow your body to restore itself. Plan to give yourself a quiet and peaceful space for renewal in rest and sleep or power naps. Be sure your spine is in alignment, to protect the nervous system..
4. Accept yourself, just as you are. Acceptance leads to self-love and the freedom to make New Choices and replace unproductive habits and thoughts. We are spiritual beings living in a physical body and our Creator created us with unlimited potentialities and loves us as we are, with all our felt limitations and inadequacies. There is no one else in the whole world exactly like you and there never will be. You are a beloved and precious child of the Creator, Who wants the best for you. Part of the process of creating health and happiness is recognizing and acknowledging our roots, where we've come from and who we are today. To create abundance versus lack, accept yourself as you are. Otherwise you are giving your subconscious mind the message that you are not enough and there will never be enough, thus creating lack instead of appreciating all that is right and abundant about you and your life. Look for the possibilities in yourself and in every situation. Every negative in life has an opposite and equal possibility. It is a Law, which never changes. Look for it and you will be surprised with joy. Ask yourself: What is the possibility in this experience? What can I learn? How can I benefit others and myself through this experience? The beauty of accepting yourself is that you don't have to change anything. Loving yourself as you are is a very powerful and life-giving message!!
5. Say, "Yes" to feeling good. Start by believing in your power to be a whole person. Your life can work and be fulfilling. Become aware of a self-limiting or self-defeating message that stops your joy, limits your growth potential or negatively affects your health and wellness in body, mind, and spirit. Instead, harness the power to listen to your self and your inner intuition. Both men and women can develop this ability by paying attention to their thoughts and feelings in daily life. Give yourself the gift of on-going education. Seek books and tapes and seminars and courses and people that can teach and mentor you for the life you seek. Learn and grow from life's challenges and any mistakes you have made. Forgive yourself and those who have wronged you or failed to support you in times of need. Seek positive people who can and will support you on your life journey. Learn more about how to prevent illness and maintain wellness through things you can change and have control over, like what you eat, what you drink, your habits of exercise, the environment you live in, and spiritual/mental health habits. Seek out those who are role models for you and the life you want to create for yourself.
6. Develop additional Coping Behaviors or activate those you already have developed. Personal resources like relying on or strengthening your Faith, choosing positive Friends to hang out with, reading positive and inspirational literature daily, playing with a child or your pet, creating or joining a Support Group that can bolster your commitment to your life and well-being, developing or returning to a Hobby such as listening to music, singing or playing an instrument, gardening, fishing, walking in the woods or a lovely spot in nature, watching a funny movie, finding things to laugh at (even yourself!), creating through writing or artistic self expressions. The more positive coping behaviors we adopt and develop, the greater our inner resources will be in times of crises.
7. If you have experienced a Loss, whether public or private, personal or professional, situational or developmental, take time to grieve and acknowledge the changes you are facing as a result of the loss. Recognize that loss comes to everyone at some time in life. You are not alone. Get help from a professional if you cannot move forward after a reasonable amount of time. Significant losses take at least a year to resolve and internalize the results of that experience, and our culture is not always understanding of your very personal time frame to resolve the losses. If you have multiple losses, you may find it takes more time and effort to reach a positive outcome. So give yourself the gift of private time to reflect, remember and feel your feelings, and gain peace. Write a letter to your deceased loved one, or write a letter to yourself about the loss/change, knowing you can destroy it after you have acknowledged the feelings and changes to yourself. Forgive yourself and the other person. Read a book that can help you think through and process your thoughts, feelings, and memories. My book, HeartPaths for Hard Times: Bridges for Coping With Loss and Change is a great inspirational resource and handbook on loss and change, with a holistic approach.
8. Support groups or systems are very important for healing, wholeness, and success in life. Needing support from others is an essential part of being human. Any thing, person or group can provide support for you if it is positive, helps you know you are not alone, provides comfort and reassurance and a listening ear for the times you need to share your thoughts and feelings or problem-solve difficult situations. Check with your local Mental Health Association, the newspaper (for a list of support groups in your community), your funeral home (some have an after-care program for family members), Hospice, your minister, church or other churches in your community, for a group which may meet your special needs for support outside your immediate family, circle of friends, or church-related activities. A group, such as a garden club or professional group, which you have been a part of over time, may provide the support you need. Look for opportunities to find support in a confidential, private and emotionally safe environment. If you cannot find an organized group, you can seek out other persons who share your need and agree to meet on a regular basis, thus creating your own support group.
9. Plan new goals in your life, based on your self-understanding, value system, and life purpose. Only 3% of people have written, specific, measurable, time-focused and personal goals that address the whole of one's life. Goals can give you new purpose and a renewed commitment to living your life fully. Your confidence and sense of inner security increases as you achieve small steps towards a larger goal. Start with small daily commitments to take better care of yourself in specific ways. Share your goal with a supportive person, who can help you be accountable to yourself and your future. Know that life is a journey, and you will reach your destination only as you begin with the first step or mile, and continue taking small consistent actions. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step, taken over and over and over until the end result is reached.
10. Be grateful for everything that is in your life. Never give up on yourself and your dreams. Many great accomplishments are achieved after the fifth decade of life. Keep a Gratitude Journal of all the blessings that come your way, big and small. Give back to Life/the Creator out of a grateful abundant heart for who you are and what you have been given. Giving creates a circle of Love and Life. You will attract resources, people and open doors for yourself to achieve your greatest potential.
11. (Bonus) Replace what's not working with new possibilities: Healthy, Connected Relationships. Career that affirms Gifts. Clear Purpose and Values. Joyous and Harmonious Feelings. Uncluttered lifestyle that reflects what really matters. To have energy and wellness, we must be willing to leave behind those things in our lives that no longer serve us. As one lets go of the "old", better things are attracted into one's life. Positive people, better opportunities, new growth, excitement. A new Door Opens to Possibility Living. What a great outcome!

Submitted by Rhoda Moyer Searcy, Nurse Educator, Speaker, Author, and Anti-Aging and Wellness Coach. (Copyright 2005.) You can contact her at WSDREAMS@aol.com, or 336-724-6201. She speaks on Stress and Change Management and Wellness Topics for groups and businesses. Her book Heartpaths is available at www.amazon.com, or Hampton House Art Gallery, or call Rhoda.