This Method is Helping People Like You Become Healthier
All of your small decisions during the day equate to your lifestyle. Find out how to make it a lifestyle you mean to live and not just one that happens. Give yourself purpose.
The Slight Edge, The Compound Effect, Baby Steps, call it what you want. It's progress. Those small decisions you make over and over determines the outcome of your goals. I have worked with many clients that do not have patients for "baby steps". They want their desired outcome right now because they heard about someone else that has done it. The success rate of those "overnighters" is minuscule, not to mention the amount of work that goes into that type of change in such a short period of time. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.
We are talking about Health. Most of us know by now that a lifestyle change is long term. The Real Recess Lifestyle takes 9 weeks adding 1 principle per week. Start by drinking one glass of water (not just a liquid, but actual H2O) per meal. Even if you only eat one meal per day, this is a baby step toward bigger health goals. While you are on this first week, start to learn about your next step of 4 meals per day in a 12 hour window followed by 12 hours of not eating. Each week, add a new guideline. At the end of the ninth week you will have a well rounded healthy lifestyle around movement, nourishment, and recovery (both mentally and physically). *This lifestyle is designed for the general public, some individuals have special needs. Consult your physician prior to making any drastic changes.
This breakdown of small goals can be applied to any healthy lifestyle. Remember, it's not just what you do - it's also what you don't do!
Build A Life Plan You Are Proud Of
Reverse engineer your goals by following these short steps. I share my Real Recess plan with you as an example.
You wake up, breakfast, go to work, lunch, finish work, go home, dinner, watch TV, go to bed, and repeat. That's no way to live!! Guest what? There's no significance in a safe life and there is no safety in a significant life. Okay, these are extreme examples. But do you really have a plan for the next step of your life? You've got to write down this plan and be able to see it. Look at it everyday. Then, check off the steps you accomplish along the way.
First, start with 10 years from today. If anything is possible within reality, where are you going to be living in 10 years (location, setting, type of home, with whom)? How are you going to make an income (mixture of what you like, what you're good at, what you can get paid for)? Remember, you are creating your future here, make it how you want! What are you doing with spare time (a hobby that promotes growth and with whom)? Find or draw a picture of this ideal lifestyle. It helps so much to visualize.
Now, take it back 5 years. What do you have to do in 5 years to make this 10 year plan work? Consider the concept of compounding interest. You may not be much further in 5 years than you are today, but you are building momentum. Progress will happen faster from year 5-10 than from year 1-5. With that in mind, what must you accomplish in one year to be on track for that 5 year step? Finally, what are you doing today to reach that ideal lifestyle?
I will gladly share an abbreviation of my life plan created in 2009: In 10 years I will be living in a Recess style house (swinging furniture, ramps, fireman poles, suspension bridge, lookout windows, walk-in shower, hot tub, ice bath, luscious garden) near a body of water with land to hike and having a view of a valley in Blair County. I will be living with my girlfriend and preparing meals with her everyday. Income will be from two sources. First, I will receive monthly checks from companies using an onsite Real Recess Health Coach. The second source of income will be from the residential and commercial Functional Recess spaces I design and build. To make this happen, 5 years into the plan (2014) I moved to a bigger town so I could pitch Real Recess to other businesses. It ended up turning into research. I learned the real perceptions and goals that most CEO's and Owners have about employees and growth. It's going to take a certain company that matches my values of improving their employees' lifestyles first and then the company's bottom line second (not the other way around). Prior to that bigger town move, my 1 year goal was to open an Adult Playground setting and I did. However, I found it difficult disrupting people's schedules (by driving to a gym) to try something new. From there the plan pivoted to online but the ultimate goal remains the same. I continue to practice and share my daily Recess breaks today with as many people that will listen.
With all of this planning you will realize you're starting to live your ideal lifestyle already. The only difference in 10 years will be what you can afford.