For achieving long term health goals "commitment" works better than "willpower"!
Willpower is an inbuilt tool/ability that each one of us is blessed with on this planet. Without willpower none of us would be able to deal with many day to day challenges that come our way. Many minor irritations in life are well taken care of thanks to our willpower. However, when it comes to dealing with serious issues in life, willpower is not enough. In fact, for any worthy long term goal that we choose to undertake (be it health related or not), relying just on the allure of willpower is a recipe for failure.
As part of my health coaching practice, I see people with many types of serious diseases (both diet and stress induced). When I put these folks on a customized health restoring diet and lifestyle plan, initially everyone is very excited. That excitement is typically fueled by their willpower. However, after the first 7-10 days I see many people struggling to continue as their willpower reserves are all but gone. Even though these people know by following the plan they will get better they are unable to give their 100%. Why is that so?
Most serious diseases do not happen overnight. It takes months, years and even decades for a disease to manifest in the body. However, we expect the body to become healthy again in a matter of days or even weeks. Similar mindset is used when we are trying to lose weight. What has been gained over months and years, we want to lose it in fraction of that time. We mistakenly believe that by using our willpower, we will be able to stay on a "certain diet" till our health goals are achieved. This mindset invariably leads to failure as the results are typically not as quick as we expected, and in time the temptations / cravings overwhelms our limited supply of willpower and we are back to square one.
Having said that, willpower can play a a very significant role in health when the objectives are short term - say a 7-10 day seasonal cleanse. But when it comes to regaining lost health or reversing serious diseases that has taken many years to slowly manifest we need a lot more than willpower - we need COMMITMENT.
What does commitment means to health?
I have often found that commitment starts where the willpower typically ends. Where willpower is more of a natural reaction, commitment involves a concrete decision - regardless of the short term results. In commitment, one see sees long term benefit of actions even if its means short term discomfort. Commitment involves welcoming challenges with open arms and taking each of them as a learning experience - making us more resilient and strong in the long run.
Commitment means taking total responsibility/ownership - Not 50% or 80 % but 100%, otherwise it's not really a commitment. See, we cannot commit to working 15 days a month and expect to be paid for the whole month. We will soon be given a notice and than likely fired from the job. Same is true for health as well. If are dealing with health issues and we eat 1-2 two healthy meals a day and eat something unhealthy or even less healthy, we are not really committed. Every single time when we eat or drink something it is either healing or causing harm to the body.
When it comes to restoring or even maintaining good health (till the time we pass on from this world), one must commit to adopting the best possible diet and lifestyle choices for good (if optimum health is the goal). Contrary to what someone might think, it doesn't have to be boring or any less joyful. One can make healthiest foods taste great without sacrificing their nutrition profile.
The human body is the ultimate surviving/healing machine (in all of animal kingdom) that is not designed to get serious diseases till in it's 90's or even 100's. There are communities (Blue zones) around the world that have been living disease free well into their 90's and even later years. When we commit to following a health promoting diet (Whole Foods Plant Based) and a lifestyle that protects us from stress our health begins to get better and our body starts to heal from within.
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