It’s Monday. Maybe you are starting a new diet or exercise program this week. Or you are trying to get back on track and stay on track with your diet and exercise. Regardless, many of us woke up today with a desire to pursue better health. This is a great thing but it’s important to really understand what that means.
To pursue means to follow something. To engage with something. But there is actually a lot more to pursue than simply following or engaging. To pursue also means to accomplish. At church this weekend I heard an interesting take on the concept of pursuing. The pastor said to pursue means to purposely plan to succeed. This is the part of pursuit we often forget about. Especially when it comes to our health pursuits.
Yes, you are on a diet and exercise program. But are you purposely planning to succeed? Let’s take a second to break that down. For starters, are you planning to succeed? Too often, we start a health program with a lot of doubt or uncertainty in our ability to stick to the plan. We have unanswered questions about our diet and we know we are likely to struggle with willpower. All things that make it hard to plan for success.
Planning for success is an important part of the equation. You can’t have doubt. You must have confidence. A confidence that you will succeed in this new health program. One way or another. Acquiring that confidence can come in different forms from self-talk and motivation to making sure you have a clear understanding of what you need to do to achieve your health goal.
“Purposely” is the other important part in the definition of pursuit. We have to be intentional in our health pursuit. We have to take action and plan. We have to take time to consider where we may fall short on our pursuit and install guard rails to ensure that doesn’t happen or at the very least doesn’t happen very frequently.
Often times we think we are in pursuit of better health but often times we are going through the motions. Maybe we aren’t planning to fail but we also aren’t planning for success. And certainly not intentional purposeful planning for success.
This is why there is more to dieting and health than meets the eye. It’s not just about the foods you eat or the exercise you do. It’s about your mindset. It’s about your awareness of yourself and where you are likely to fall short. It’s about preparing for success knowing that failure is not an option. Purposely making plans to succeed is maybe the most crucial component in your pursuit of better health.
Thanks for reading,
Chris Irvin
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