Adopting the Seven Habits to Enhance Your Health

Your health is your chief asset. You are only as successful as you are healthy. This is one aspect of our lives that we should give the highest priority, but, sadly, there are a very few people who pay adequate attention to their health. Interestingly, if you take a look at the daily routines of the most successful people from around the world, you will see that they have always been vigilantly observant about their health.

Habit 1 for Enhancing Health

Be proactive.

The first thing you must realize is that there are several things you can do about your health. You have the power to make the choice. You have the power to decide whether you want to live a lazy, unhealthy life, or you want to be active and do things that you have always dreamed of doing.  It’s up to you. Think about the kind of person you want to be, the things you want to achieve and begin moving in that direction without hesitation.

Habit 2 for Enhancing Health

Put first things first.

When you make up your mind to live better, improvement begins almost immediately. Start by gathering all the things you would need.  If it’s support you need, identify the people whose support will be critical in keeping you on the path to health. If it’s information you need, begin writing down what that is and then look for the resources to find that information.  If it’s medical advice that will serve you best to begin, then by all means do that immediately.

Habit 3 for Enhancing Health

Begin with the end in mind.

Once you’ve established determination to live a healthy life, you must begin to picture in your mind what that looks like for you.  Create both short term and long term incentives. When you have incentives in place, you’ll find that it is easier to stick to your determination. Think about what you want to achieve. In fact, think about it so hard that it becomes a real thing for you. You must make it real within your mind. When you think about this end goal as something real, your entire life will automatically going to reorient itself in the direction of its achievement.

Habit 4 for Enhancing Health

Think win-win.

Even when you are thinking about your own health, there are situations in which you could think win-win. When you take control of your health situation, it is not affecting just yourself.  Your health is not as personal a thing as you think. There are other people who are influenced by what you do about it. You are also benefiting your family and the people you serve in your work by doing so. You are getting fitter and healthier, which means you can do more. By improving your health, you improve your productivity, your efficiency, your effectiveness at work.

Habit 5 for Enhancing Health

Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Throughout your journey in life, you will find that the better you try to understand people, the healthier you become. This is not only about physical health you see. Health encompasses your mental framework as well. If you are more comfortable with the people around you, you’ll likely have a better idea about yourself as well. You may even find more peace, more fulfillment and more happiness once you put forth effort to understand people.

Habit 6 for Enhancing Health

Synergize.

Synergizing in the health context implies seeking better support and help from the people around you. Synergize with your doctor as well. These are people who are ready to work with you, and hopefully give you the best advice to enable you to take better control of your health.

The most important being that you have to synergize with is yourself. Know what your body needs, what your body is comfortable doing, what your body’s capacity is, what makes you happy and what makes you sad, etc.  Only with this synergy can you give your body and mind the exact things that they are looking for… things that can keep you healthier.

Habit 7 for Enhancing Health

Sharpen the saw.

You must sharpen the saw constantly, improving on what you are, physically and mentally. This is a constant process and requires dedication. Keeping your health in balance should be always on your priorities. Maintain a plan to stay fit and preserve your health for the long term.

Remember that health is not just a physical thing; it relates to your mind as well. This is also an aspect that you have to constantly keep improving. Recognize stressors and identify ways to work them out. These are ways in which you should keep sharpening the saw of your mental health.

Personal Coaching Action Steps:

1. Which of the 7 Habits do you see you need to address first?
2. What will you do to improve your health inside of the habit you commit to address? What practices will you put in place?
3. What impacts will it have on you, your work, those around you when you improve your health?