I’ve been working with a physician who’s writing a book on the new healthcare. The costly broken system we have has to be changed, and so does our personal responsibility for our own health. And we have significant research showing that many of the illnesses we get, usually later in life, are preventable by lifestyle choices. So what will help us change any of our unhealthy behaviors? We have to be motivated.
So what motivates people to change?
Is it fear of death, disease, or pain?
Is it wanting to look better, feel better, or seem better to other people?
Is it desiring to be alive in good health for grandchildren or children?
Is it the passion to provide answers to some of life’s questions?
To leave a legacy while all physical, mental and emotional faculties are intact?
Different things motivate different people
Some of us thrive on fear, some are paralyzed by it
Some of us win by meeting a challenge, others are put off by one
Whatever it is that works to get us moving in a new direction we need to do it now – politically and personally.
So what is it YOU want to change? And what will be the motivation to get you started, and stick with a new behavior? Your answers and comments are greatly appreciated.
About a month ago I got some lab results that showed that my cholesterol levels were going up. The doc wanted me to take statins, unless I was willing to change my lifestyle, something he clearly doubted that I could, or would do. Statins weren’t something I wanted to take unless absolutely necessary. So, even though in the past I thought about changing what I eat and how much more I SHOULD exercise, I didn’t do it. This time, I was scared plus I wanted to be around for 
my grandkids, to watch them grow up. Fear was part of my motivation – fear of becoming compromised by heart disease or something but in the end I think it came down to being a big challenge – could I do something that my doc thought was unlikely?
My diet has totally changed – and I exercise more regularly. As I write this, my motivation was to prove my doctor wrong, to do something that was hard and simple, to do what some said was impossible. Whether I’ve changed blood lipids I don’t know yet, I’m giving it another month. What I do know, the foods I HAD to have, like bread, butter and cheese are basically out of my kitchen. I had a cheesy thing last night at a party and it tasted way too greasy for me.
AN AHA MOMENT because of the comment below – I realized that wanting to make someone wrong is not a good reason to change, – wanting to be better in bodymind and soul, to be better for my family, to be here for them, and also, perhaps the biggest pusher to prove I could keep a commitment to myself, that I have the discipline that goes beyond a work project. After all, aren’t we each a work of art that needs to be fine-tuned towards perfect?
So regardless of whether you have health insurance, or if Obamacare is deemed unconstitutional and some new plan comes into play, each of us has to make a health plan that works for us. It takes motivation. What is yours?