Making the choice can be the hardest part!

The decision I find most people working through when wanting to get healthy is whether they are ready to commit to the actual change they want to make. Meaning, it isn't usually whether they want to meet their goal, most people do, but they aren’t entirely sure what to expect, and so they say they aren’t sure they're ready. What keeps them from deciding. Is it money? Probably not. When you want a new pair of shoes bad enough you spend the money. When you want to go on vacation bad enough, you book the vacation and go. When you want to try a new restaurant badly enough, you do. So why the hesitation for your own health? Do you question your own ability?

Are you the type of person that questions everything and needs to know all the facts, all the steps, all the costs, and all the “what-ifs?” Are you a person who needs both the internal voice and an external voice to convince you that you can do it? Or are you the type of person who is ready to go, knows you can change and just needs help with the how? Understanding your own objections to getting better is part of your decision making and can be the hardest part. But not deciding is still deciding to do nothing. To stay where you are. To put off your results. To kick the can down the road again.

Sometimes not making a decision is because people aren’t even sure what their “why” is. Is it to stop feeling pain? To be able to crawl with their kids? To be able to run again? How about to look better at the beach? Or, they don’t want to admit they aren’t getting better, or they have spent a lot of money already and don’t want to admit things didn’t work. In fact, all of this can sometimes be debilitating. Not deciding. Yes, they want to get healthy, yes they want to lose weight and yes they want to get rid of their pains, but they don’t know what that journey will look like, how hard (or easy) it will be and if they picked the right program. The fear of the unknown can put the brakes on decisions. Partly because all the things you have tried haven’t worked and so you may question, rightfully so, whether this next thing will work. There are so many programs, products, hype and information that it is overwhelming to decide to go it again. But choosing isn’t necessarily about the program. (It can be, but we’ll come back to this). It’s about you!

The decision itself to do something different can be scary, but not making a decision, is even scarier. Not making a choice for yourself or not making a choice to put you first this time means you will continue to deal with your pains. It means your goals will take longer to reach and it means that it will be that much longer before you feel better. Once you decide to take the leap and make a change the stress of that decision, almost always, leaves and the excitement for improvement can begin. You can start to focus on the possibilities, the vision for the future and how you will show up. You get excited for what comes next, excited to spend more time moving and doing, excited for the relationship with a coach and excited to learn new things and grow. The decision IS the thing you need to do.

Now, let’s get back to the program issue. Programs do matter once you have made the choice of committing to change. Not all programs are created equal. People are all different and you didn’t get to where you are the same way someone else did. You don’t have the same genetics; you haven’t made the same choices throughout life and you don’t eat exactly like someone else. So, programs that treat you like everyone else are not helpful. They might tell you to just eat this thing for 14 days, or simply eat paleo or Mediterranean, or take this supplement and powder for the rest of your life. This is not helpful.

What is helpful is making sure whoever is helping you understands root cause resolution. Getting to the root cause of why you feel bad and have the symptoms you have in the first place. Powders and one-size-fits-all programs can’t do that. You need someone who will help you understand how your food, physiology, lifestyle and choices all matter and can help improve your health outcomes. Finding someone who can help you dig deep, understand what is unique about you, finding and fixing the issues and teaching you how to do that for yourself.

If you are “Deciding” to make a change these questions can help you to decide:

· What is the cost to you if you don't move forward?

· Why do you doubt this can be solved with the right information?

· Will you give up trying or keep doing what you are doing, hoping it works?

· If you have exhausted other options, what will you do next?

· Do you feel you can get better, there is a way and just need someone to help put the pieces together?

· Do you believe in your own abilities?

· What accountability do you need when making a change?

· How long can you go on feeling the way you do, losing out on life?

· What things have you tried that haven’t gotten to the root cause?

· Do you feel the same despite everything you have done?

These questions will help you “Decide,” make a choice, and then be ready to get going with a program that will find the root causes for you. Decide to change, make the choice and get going and let the transformation begin!