January 2017

HEALTH
What is your vision for
by Lisa Callahan
Every January, New Year’s
resolutions consume the minds
of many. Traditionally, as people
slide swiftly into the New Year, a
vision of a “life transformation”
dances in their head.
A vision so clear, so vivid, it almost
seems real already. You know it is time
to make a change, you know this year
will be different, and nothing is going to
stop you from reaching your goal.
So how come following through can
feel so tough at times? Let’s be realistic,
a vision is a mental image of what the
future will, or could, be like. Therefore, it
is not actually real. We get this mental
image of how things will be without ever
actually doing anything to get to our
destination. Many times, this vision is
the exact reason why we never actually
come face to face with our future self.
The vision is the very thing that stops us
from reaching our goal.
So why does this happen? It is all just
a state of mind. This state of mind
sets the mood that you are in at that
time but doesn’t necessarily carry you
straight to your destination. Your brain
has memories that “trigger” certain
things about your vision. Maybe you
can picture yourself at 25 being the life
of the party, running in that marathon
you completed 15 years ago, or how
about the times when everything
you tried on fit you just perfectly?
Attitude is everything and our past
achievements give us hope of our
future accomplishments. Everyone has
dreams for themselves. It’s just a matter
of how motivated you are to turn your
fantasies into your reality.
One way to help push closer to your
goal is to recognize that you are the
only one in the driver’s seat. Your mind
104
and body are waiting for you to make
a move, and you have an obligation to
yourself to tune in and listen. It’s that
moment of intuition that will fire up your
engine. You hold the key to your future
self. No looking outside yourself for the
answers.
Studies show that we have 60-80,000
thoughts per day. Within these thoughts
is a little voice. This voice can be
your best friend or your worst enemy.
Positive self-talk will shower you with
confidence, dedication, and positive
energy. It can be a strong voice of
reason as we are pushing ourselves into
the correct state of mind. Keeping your
mind open will allow you to tune into the
best version of yourself. If you can stay
positive, you will also remember to stay
true to the present moment. Focus your
thoughts on today and you will be a lot
more motivated to keep your goals in
place.
When you are looking to create a
new habit, pinpointing the real goal is
a valuable tool. For example, if your
vision is to get back to a size 6, ask
yourself why that size matters to you.
The answer is to have
more confidence,
patience, and energy.
Keeping those goals
in the front of your
thoughts will
give you a new
perspective. It
will also allow
you the freedom
to enjoy your
efforts now
instead of waiting
until you reach
the size 6. This
attitude makes
every day a gift.
JANUARY 2017
So how do you get started? Consider
you are taking a trip on the journey of
life. A life journey truly means to develop
your character, to test your faith in
yourself, to
learn new
things, to
trust yourself,
to better
yourself,
to know
yourself, to
like yourself,
to grow up
and to move forward, to trust your
instincts, to live your own life.
So, ask yourself: Are you selling yourself
short of your life’s journey? Look at
your life now. Have you seen this
scene before? Start to really envision
which parts you keep repeating and
which ones you would like to change.
Remember, a journey is traveling
from one place to another. So why
do many of us keep going around in
circles?
Today is a new chapter. Live your
life. Experience your journey. Do
this because you like yourself and
you deserve to travel beyond your
imagination. Make your journey
real, and make it matter. It doesn’t
matter where you came from,
how you started, or what you
have done in the past; 2017 is
here, and you are ready to take
your first action step.
Onward to a positive year!
Lisa Callahan is a lifestyle
coach with Keep It Clean
Lifestyle Management.
She can be reached at
trilifebodymanagement@gmail.
com.