Justified? How to Change Your Mind to Change Your Health

Ready to transform your life? It starts with one powerful shift—change your mind.

After a long day of the 9 to 5 grind, she walks through the back door leaving her purse on the kitchen table, kicks off her shoes, grabs a bag of chips and plops herself onto the couch…absolutely exhausted.  Kate knows that dinner needs to be made and that it’s her night for carpool duty to take her son to basketball and her daughter to dance, but she JUST. NEEDS. A. MOMENT.

A moment to “relax.” (Sound familiar?)

She’s been working all day and invites the quick break. Kate then proceeds to practically inhale the entire bag of chips (because we all know that half of that bag is just air anyway, right?) and watches the 5 o’clock evening news. As she watches the news, the typical twinge of shame and guilt follow the mindless, numbed-out habit of eating her way to “feel” better.

Can you relate to Kate…at all?

According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.9 billion adults have habits similar to Kate and are overweight. Of these, over 650 million are obese. These statistics change other statistics as well. For instance, diabetes has tripled in number and depression is at an all-time high. Yes, there is a correlation.

My question to you, based on Kate’s routine, story and the statistics, is are you justifying your unhealthy habits?

• Are Netflix binges the norm?
• Is the fast-food drive-through common because you’re too “busy” to eat healthy?
• Is your calendar so jammed full that you don’t have time for YOU?
• Does the thought of exercise exhaust you even more?
• Are you so busy caring for everyone else that the thought of taking care of yourself seems “selfish” and impossible?  
• IF SO…. you are not alone.

While the comfort of NOT being alone can actually give one a false sense of comfort, it certainly doesn’t change things.

So what does?

Your mindset. Change your mind and your actions will follow. In rare cases, it does indeed happen the other way around, but for the sake of all the “Kate’s” out there, let’s dive into the five best ways to initially change your mindset in order to change your actions/habits.

First, acknowledge that you even need to adjust your mindset. Sounds rather elementary, but you can’t change what you aren’t willing to admit.

Second, know your “why” and make sure it’s not surface or shallow. The more significant the “why” the more you can and will change your mindset. For instance, if you are dealing with disease due to self-inflicted choices then the pain of your “why” could be your driving force for change. Or the limitations due to your condition within a relationship could be your driving force to change. Everyone’s “why” is different. Dig deep and find yours.

Third, have a plan and stick to that plan. Consistency is the ONLY thing that forms new habits. Don’t jump from this gimmick to that. Keep it simple, clean, and doable – then repeat the process daily.

Fourth, know your “triggers.” This is important. Triggers, oftentimes emotional, can potentially derail your consistency. But, by having an immediate action plan to avoid the old ways will offer a shield for those pesky “trigger darts” aimed to not only get you off track but to keep you there.

Finally, reward yourself in a healthy way when you reach a new milestone toward your goal. A reward, even if it’s simply taking a gratitude walk, will reinforce the progress you are making and will incentivize further mindset shifts until you’ve reached your ultimate goal.

And most importantly (this is a bonus, yet key, step), give God the glory throughout it all. Remembering Psalm 86:12 “I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart. And will glorify Your name forever.” And Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”