Personal Responsibility
" YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN TAKE CARE OF YOU UNTIL SOMEONE ELSE HAS TO BECAUSE YOU CHOSE NOT TO. " ~KELLY NENTWICH
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Inside of my Weight Loss & Wellness For Women Over 45 Course I lay out a clear 5-step success path for my students to follow. I want to take a moment to chat with you about step #1 on that success path.
Step #1 of the success path is personal responsibility, but what exactly is personal responsibility? Personal responsibility means taking responsibility for your actions. It means being able to take care of one’s well-being without expecting or blaming others to do it for you.
Improvement in our health happens when we take personal responsibility for it. To be personally responsible and self-reliant with our health, we have to choose to practice 4 principles. I call them the 4 “A’s” of personal responsibility.
1. Our Aim
2. Our Attention
3. Our Attitude
4. Our Actions
Let’s take a closer look at each of the 4 “A’s” of personal responsibility.
1. Our Aim
Our aim is made up of two parts …. our goals and our purpose.
The first part of our aim is to know what our goals are. Successful people understand exactly what healthy means to them. They set a goal or an intention and then work towards it. They don’t always know the full picture but they have a really good idea of what they want their health to look and feel like.
Successful people also understand where they are starting from. They understand that their health journey is like a GPS system. You must type in your starting point and your ending destination in order for the GPS system to tell you how to get there. Well, it's the same with your health....you must know where you are and where you want to go.
If you don’t know what your health goals are then you don’t know where to aim and therefore you will feel lost.
So ask yourself, “What am I aiming for?” “What is the current state of my health and where do I want to be?”
The second part of our aim is our purpose. When you know your purpose or your "why" you can endure the "how". There will be many times when making diet and lifestyle changes will be challenging and in order to get through it, you will need to truly understand why you want to do this. Why do you want to improve your health? Why do you want to pass up those donuts and have a salad instead? Clarity and focus are the foundations to making habit changes successful. Knowing your "why" will give you the complete clarity and focus you need. You may have to dig deep to get to your true "why". Your why should make you cry! It makes you cry because it is a deep feeling and belief that often times we have pushed away for a long time. Your "why" is not that you want to lose weight or prevent chronic disease. Ask yourself, why you want those things.
Remember, anything is possible when the desire to change is greater than the desire to stay the same.
2. Our Attention
Have you ever heard the saying “Where you put your attention is where you get your results.”? There is so much truth in this statement. Successful people understand that they must focus their attention on their goals.
Many people allow outside people and circumstances to dictate where they put their focus and attentions. It is very easy to get distracted and not focus on our own attentions. So many people aren’t paying attention to their goals; they’re paying attention to the distractions that show up. If we’re going to accomplish our health goals then we have to guard our attention from all the garbage that can come in and sweep it away.
Ask yourself, “Where is my attention going each moment of the day?” “Am I making sure my attention is focused on reaching my health goals?”.
3. Our Attitude
How are you thinking about your health? Do you fill your mind with limiting beliefs? Do you find yourself saying any of the following;
"I don’t have enough time to eat healthy, exercise etc."
"It’s too expensive to eat healthy."
"Bad genes run in my family so I’m destined to get (fill in the blank with a disease)."
"I’m over 40 and it’s normal to not feel healthy and not have energy."
"I’ve hit menopause so I can’t possibly lose weight."
"My family won't eat like this so why should I bother."
"I’m too old to make changes."
Do any of those sound familiar? If so, then you do not have the right attitude about your health. When you repeat these limited beliefs, your negative attitude will not allow you to be open to change and therefore you will not be able to change your health.
One of my favorite quotes is, "your mind is million dollar real estate so be careful of what you let reside in it." Successful people do not allow limiting beliefs to occupy space in their brains. They may come up against challenges, as we all do, but they are open to finding solutions to those challenges because of their positive attitude.
You can change your attitude just by controlling your thoughts and directing them in a new, positive and open way. When you do this then the limiting beliefs mentioned above will change. See if you notice the difference;
"I’m going to look to save money in other areas of my life so that I can afford healthier foods."
"I’m going to rearrange my schedule this week to make time for some exercise."
"My genes are not my destiny, my daily habits are."
"I know several women over 40 who are healthy and full of energy so I will reach out to them and find out how they are accomplishing it."
"I can’t seem to lose weight after 40 by doing the things I’ve always done, so I am going to be open to learn new strategies."
"Since my family won't eat this way, I will lead by example and change my diet so my family will witness my positive health changes. I hope that they will be inspired by my health transformation."
See how those challenges can go from becoming limiting beliefs to becoming solutions just by a change in attitude?
So, think about some limiting beliefs you've told yourself or others. Is there an opportunity to look at your limiting beliefs as challenges and focus on rephrasing them?
4. Our Actions
What is it that you’re doing each and every day? Take responsibility for your actions because they are adding to your character and destiny. Who you become is not random. Who you become is a direct result of your consistent and disciplined actions. Do your daily actions and choices lead you closer or further away from your health goals?
Successful people know how to control their daily actions to help guide them towards positive and healthy outcomes.
Taking personal responsibility is critical to meeting your health goals. In all the years that I have been coaching women, I can tell you that the women who are most successful with reaching their health and wellness goals are those that learned how to take personal responsibility for their health.
I have included a detailed Health Goals Worksheet for you to download and complete. This is the very first step in making lasting changes to your health.
If you would like to learn more about my Weight Loss and Wellness Course for Women Over 45, then be sure to CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.
