Part Three: Focus

Eat, Move, Focus. I chose this name for the blog because I believe these are the three key components for healthy, vivacious living. So far I’ve talked in depth about the importance of eating a wholesome, well-balanced diet and the benefits of moving more. So where does focus fit in to it all? Focus, in fact, could just be the most important aspect of healthy living.

Focus is what we need to achieve any desired result. It’s our willpower. It’s our motivation. It’s what dedicates us to a certain goal. It’s what keeps us going when things get tough. Most of us probably don’t even realize how much focusing we do every day, from caring for our kids to cleaning the house to managing money to completing tasks at work. Subconsciously, we constantly set goals, even if they are small, and we prioritize those goals to get them done in order of necessity.

Some things are easier to focus on than others. We live in a society that demands fast results. It is much more difficult to focus on goals which take longer to accomplish. This is where health and fitness lie. Taking care of our bodies requires a great amount of continuous focus. No matter what the goal, it takes time for the body to change. Weight loss (at least healthy weight loss) takes time. Building cardiovascular or muscular endurance takes time. Figuring out what we should or shouldn’t eat to feel our best takes time. We might set a goal to lose 10 pounds or complete a 5K race or achieve 15 pullups, but getting there takes a lot of time. And in addition to time, there are an insurmountable number of distractions from all the other day to day tasks that can get in the way, leading us to lose focus on our self-improvement goals.

But I’m here to tell you that, as difficult as self-change is, you already have everything you need to make it happen. Here are some tips I have used to stay focused:

Think about the why. Society often places the focus on outer appearance and we therefore criticize our imperfections. But by thinking about the inside of our bodies and everything our bodies do to on a daily basis, it may be easier to find the motivation to make healthier choices. Rather than running to lose weight, run to improve your cardiovascular fitness and, ultimately, your heart health. Rather than using weights to look toned, use them to improve your functional capabilities over your lifetime and to reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life. Rather than worrying about how “bad” foods will wreck your diet and cause weight gain, think about how healthier options will keep your energy up and help your body function more efficiently. Essentially, try to create the same sense of care and compassion for the inside of your body as you would have for a newborn baby. When you strive to improve the inside, changes in outer appearance will naturally follow.

Set a specific goal. Do you want to feel healthier overall? Do you want to improve your cardiovascular fitness? Do you want to work on disease prevention and longevity? Do you want to feel more energized or less stressed throughout your day? Whatever the goal may be, make it specific to you and write it down. Stare at it, read it several times, and make it part of you. You can even create several mini-goals rather than one big goal. Visualize yourself working towards this goal. This will be what you refer back to if you start to lose focus.

Focus on small changes, not the end result. You want to reach the goal, but you know it will take time to get there. What is great about working towards a healthier lifestyle is that no healthy act can be undone. You haven’t reached the goal after one 45-minute workout, but that one workout has already begun to change you. You haven’t reached the goal after one healthy meal, but your body will recognize the quality of nutrients without you even knowing it. As long as you keep working towards the goal, you will continue to see change.

Give yourself 3 weeks to create new habits. It is said that 3 weeks is the amount of time it takes to create a habit. Whatever health goal you are working towards, it should start to get easier after 3 weeks simply because it has become a habit. If you are exercising, working it into your day will become easier and you may even find yourself craving the activity. If you are eating healthier, you might also find that your taste buds have become more sensitive to salt and sugar, allowing you to cut back on sweet and salty foods naturally. Or you might find that you really don’t need that evening snack or dessert after dinner.

Have a plan for when you get discouraged. We all experience setbacks, and they are no doubt discouraging. You may feel like not putting in the effort on a specific day, or giving up your goal altogether. When this happens, reread your goal statement and again visualize what you will do to get there. You can also talk to a friend who has a similar goal and ask if she can help you bust through the rut. If you do have a totally awful day where you couldn’t get yourself to do anything towards your goal, let it go. Go to sleep and wake up with a clean slate. One bad day hasn’t erased all your progress.

Never stop reaching your goal. Once you do reach your goal, work to maintain the progress you’ve made. You can certainly set a new goal to work towards, but don’t let that cause you to lose the goal you’ve already obtained. A healthy lifestyle must be nurtured for a lifetime. And the more you practice it, the easier it will be.

 

Focus.  Focus on you. Don’t let the everyday get in the way of self-improvement. Don't worry about anyone else, but decide what you want for yourself and strive to achieve it. It might take one month or it might take many years. You own your body, and you have the power to achieve a healthy one. Remember, you already have everything you need to get there!