Reset

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
As the weather starts changing in September, and our schedules and kids’ schedules start changing toward fall activities, many of us also have a looming personal deadline:  our habits need to change.  We’ve spent the last part of summertime lamenting it coming to an end, but also looking forward to not as many trips and long weekends — distractions that take us away from our healthier behavior at home.  Some of these unhealthy habits — going out to eat, drinking too much, not getting enough quality sleep — maybe even have crept more into our daily summer lives, and we’ve made a future commitment to getting back on track.  “When summer is over, I’ll be better.”  But guess what?  Summer is over, and fall activities have begun, and we haven’t yet realized that commitment.
NOW is the time for a reset!  Don’t keep on putting off for one more day what you can start now.  And that’s the key — it’s just about STARTING.  Get the ball rolling today, wake up tomorrow feeling more refreshed, and recommit again for that day.  Make this recommitment part of your morning practice — as you review your plan of the day before you dive into work, include as one of your daily tasks, “Stay strong with ________” — whatever it is.  My personal daily affirmation that I get strength from throughout the day when I look at it is, “Stay on the Path.”  To me, that means staying focused on my purpose and goals, part of which is to live a healthy lifestyle so that I can continue fulfilling my purpose!
Every successful day rebuilding that healthy habit gets easier, because every day you will feel more energized and stronger, and that affirming phrase becomes more powerful to you, and more difficult to ignore.  Unfortunately, the opposite is true too – each day that we put off turning the corner toward a better habit, the harder it is to change.  We all get engrained in an unhealthy lifestyle — we get comfortable — and it gets harder and harder to turn away from that comfort.
So please join me in using this change of season from sweltering summer to beautiful fall to recommit yourself to a healthier lifestyle, to getting back on your Path.  Of course you’ll have slip-ups along the way, days that you can confidently say, “I was on some different path there!”  And that’s fine, if you have a morning practice that allows you to recommit yourself to your goals and the life you want to lead each new day.
Here’s to your health!
Ryan