Cityscape Summer 2020

WELLBEING
DR LIBBY
THE GOOD LIFE
We know what we need to do, so why don’t we
just do it? Here’s a few common obstacles.
‘There is so
much gold in
understanding
what is really
driving our choices’
T
he beginning of a new year
signals a time for many
people to assess where
they’re at and to set some
intentions for the year ahead.
When it comes to health, many
people declare that this is the year
they are finally going to make their
own health a priority and make
some changes. And things usually
start off so well. But despite the
best of intentions and great
knowledge, it doesn’t always last
and many people return to some of
their less supportive habits. Have
you ever wondered why?
Something I love to explore is
why we do what we do, even
though we know what we know.
There is so much gold in
understanding what is really
driving our choices because from
this place, it becomes much easier
for us to make sustainable changes
that support our health. So let’s
look at a few common reasons why
you might struggle to put your
knowledge into practise and what
you can do to help.
You haven’t reflected on your
‘why’ It’s natural for change to feel
difficult or uncomfortable at first, so
connecting the change you want to
make with your ‘why’ is so
important. Take some time to
reflect on this and perhaps use a
journal to capture your thoughts.
Think about what you are really
wanting to achieve and what this
change will mean for you. How
does this change link with your
values? Where will you be in a
year’s time if you make this change?
Where will you be if you don’t? It
can be helpful to revisit this during
those extra challenging days.
You’re all in (or all out) When
we’re super-motivated to start the
year off well, it can be tempting to
try to overhaul everything in our life
at once. But if we’re not able to
sustain it all we can often feel like
we’ve failed and have to ‘start
again’. Commit to one or two small
changes first, and then go from
there. Small, incremental changes
can add up over time to make an
enormous difference to our health.
Your measures of success aren’t
supportive When we’re making
changes, we tend to want some
way of tracking our progress. The
problem is that if we focus only on
one specific measure, it can be easy
to think that what we’re doing isn’t
working if we don’t see this one
measure immediately change in
the way we were hoping. A good
example here is total body weight.
Yet there could be other changes
happening that indicate that what
we’re doing is incredibly beneficial,
such as improved energy, a clear
complexion, a more even mood,
clearer thinking, better digestion …
the list goes on! Focus on how you
are feeling and celebrate all the
wins along the way.
drlibby.com
66 CITYSCAPE.CO.NZ Summer 20