Healthy living is a decision. A choice you make somewhere along the way, usually a decision that’s propelled by something. An event in your life. An article you read. Something your friend told you. The way you feel. Something ignites your desire to live healthier.
My question for you today: Is it sustainable? Do you have a strong enough why to keep you on the healthy living path when temptation is all around you? Is your why compelling enough to make healthy choices when everyone around you seems to be on the opposite path?
For me, the answer is yes. I have strong reasons for why I choose a healthy lifestyle for me and my family. Keeping these whys at the forefront of my mind helps me stay on track. It reminds me that I’m not just trying to be healthy for vain reasons. Healthy foods, exercise, getting enough sleep, and choosing natural, toxin-free products is all part of my healthy living path that I stay on because I have strong whys.
I’d like to share my whys with you today and encourage you, if you haven’t, to think about your own. Write them down. Make them a part of the fabric of who you are. If they are important enough to you, they will keep you on the path on which you mean to stay.
My whys are actually quite simple. They are based on the assumption that the choices about how I live, what I surround myself with, and what I eat can all affect my outcome in life. I believe my lifestyle choices are more powerful than genetics. A study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine in 2010 showed this to be true. (source)
“Research illustrates so clearly that we do not “inherit” mortality to any great extent, but instead that it is the sum of our own habits that has the biggest impact.” (source)
It is with this concept in mind that my whys are formed.
WHY I choose healthy living for my children:
- I want them to live up to their genetic potential. Sounds rather dramatic, but I truly believe what they eat, what toxins they are or are not exposed to, how much they sleep, what they do with their minds, and how physically active they are can all contribute to their proper growth, brain development, etc. This is not something we can measure or ever know for sure, but I do know that the thought of maximizing my kids’ potential is powerful for me.
- I don’t want them to get sick. I believe that poor nutrition and environmental toxins can contribute to both mild and serious childhood illness. If I can minimize their risk, that’s what I’m going to do.
- I want them to develop habits that they will carry with them forever. Habits are hard to break. If they grow up eating junk food and soda and watching TV all day, chances are, that’s the same path they’ll follow as an adult. I want to help them develop healthy habits that they can carry into adulthood.
WHY I choose healthy living for myself:
- I don’t want to get sick. This propels me forward every single day. I want to be a healthy, active grandma when that time comes. I’ll do whatever it takes to minimize my risk of getting cancer, having a stroke or heart attack, or suffering an autoimmune disease.
- I want to have enough energy to be a good mom. From cooking healthy meals to reading with them to disciplining to getting outside and playing with them, everything that encompasses being a good mom takes energy. The diet and lifestyle choices I make directly affect the energy I have to do all those things that I prioritize.
- I want to be a good example for my kids. I can’t just tell my kids about healthy habits, I have to show them. What does it mean if I tell my kids to be active, yet I sit in front of my computer all day and don’t exercise myself? What meaning does my explanation of why sleep is important have if I don’t prioritize sleep for myself? I don’t want to be a hypocrite.
- I want to feel good in my skin. When I feel good in my skin, I’m a better mom, a better wife, and a happier person. I want my body to be strong, able, and fit.
I encourage you to find your whys. Every time I’m faced with a choice that may cause me to wander off course, I ponder these whys. I force them into my mind and I remind myself that they matter more than whatever is tempting me. It’s the best way I know to stay the course for the long run.
Do you know your WHYS for living a healthy lifestyle? Share them in the comments!
I know this is an old post but I am trying to find a deep ‘why’. One that is strong enough to get me through the days when I don’t feel like showing up.
I am 54 and about 30 lbs overweight. I’m in good health but know my test results could be better. I also know it is important to take care of myself as I age.
We do not children. I see that is a huge why, for those who do.
Since things are okay now, I’m really struggling with staying motivated and coming up with my why.
Any tips 😁
Thank you.
What do you love to do in life? Do you love to travel or are there any hobbies you really love? Being able to do the things you love most likely means you have to be healthy to do them. They can be your why. If you don’t have something that really fuels you, your mission can be finding something you truly love enough to want to be healthy for. Yes, I have children and they fuel me to want to stay healthy, but I also think about the life I want to live as I age. I don’t want to be in pain. I want to be able to travel and visit new places. Continue to golf and walk. These are things people can take for granted until they aren’t able to do them. I hope this helps you some. Best of luck on your journey!
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.
You are so right …I need to find what fuels me..what will make it imperative that I’m healthy !
I truly believe we don’t value our health until we’re sick.
I definitely want to be pain free as I age.
Have a great day. Thanks again !!
I just found your site because I was trying to get some inspiration on a new blog post I’m writing and I realized how much we have in common! I’m a new blogger, personal trainer and health coach and really just want to help inspire people to get healthy and motivation seems to be a HUGE problem! My mother died of cancer in 2010 and since then I started reading and listening to everything I could about living healthier to avoid this disease. My dad died of T2D and I don’t want my life to look like his did as I’m aging. I can’t understand why people don’t take their health more seriously but I’m learning that they mostly think they’re already doing things right and it’s just bad luck or genes that are affecting them negatively. I’m impressed with this article and plan to read more of yours because I think you have the right idea about health and life. Thanks for putting it out there!
Thank you so much, Vicki. Happy to have you here!
Love this! All it takes is that one always attainable why; it’s just the effort and motivation in life that helps anyone/me repeatedly stay on track. I agree with you- every small or big changes we make to our bodies and minds, can make us wise and energetic decades to come ?
Yes!! Thanks, Sarah. 🙂
I can only agree. Finding the why is so crucial. My family’s and my health are such strong motivators!
What I find fascinating is that when I started this healthy eating journey almost 10 years ago, I would have considered my eating habits that I have now increadibly restrictive. But to me they are not. I just WANT to eat healthy, real food.
Yes, after a while your body craves the healthy food!
I completely agree with you, Maryea. Once we find our why, it becomes easier to find motivation and to follow through what we decide to do. Is it healthy living, is it staying on a budget, or is it losing weight? They all seem hard to reach at first, but once we find our WHY, and even better, once we write it down and stare at it, all these goals get closer and within our reach.
Exactly!
I completely agree with you, Maryea. Once we find our why, it becomes easier to find motivation and to follow through what we decide to do. Is it healthy living, is it staying on a budget, or is it losing weight? They all seem hard to reach at first, but once we find our WHY, and even better, once we write it down and stare at it, all these goals get closer and within our reach.