Lifestyle Enhancement #1:
[HEALTH] I live a healthy lifestyle and am satisfied with my weight, fitness level, appearance, general health, and nutrition.

The majority of people have some concerns about their appearance or their health. The primary consideration is the degree to which these concerns impact the quality of your life.

If the state of your physical body is endangering your health right now or is reported to have a detrimental effect on your health long-term, it is imperative that you evaluate exactly why you continue a behavior that you know is bad for you.

In most cases, there is something driving this behavior far and beyond the surface reason you think you continue to do it. It may be a true addiction (for which you need expert help) or it may be a compensatory behavior that you continue to use to mask the real area of your life that is screaming for your attention.

If it’s the latter, it would serve you well to seek some professional guidance and support to discover the root problem that is driving you to continue a behavior you know to be detrimental to your body. This may also be the route you choose to take if you are dissatisfied with your physical body – even if your health is not in danger.

If you are simply dissatisfied with 10 extra pounds, chunky thighs, a large nose, or some other physical attribute, you have two choices. Accept it or change it. A third choice – which is not acceptable – is to dwell in your dissatisfaction day after day without taking any corrective action.

Either accept it or make the effort to change it, but don’t continue to whine to yourself – or your friends or spouse – day after day about something that you are clearly unwilling or unable to change. Don’t forget - there is a cost to every behavior. If you continue to indulge in an activity or behavior that you later beat yourself up about, the actual behavior is no longer the problem - your response to it is.

For example, if you eat chocolate cake even though you are trying to diet, what good does it do you to feel guilty or berate yourself about it afterward. This only makes you feel worse which, in turn, leads to eating even more to mask the emotions that YOU created.

In this case, make a choice and be happy with it. Either skip the cake or eat it and enjoy it. It is simply ridiculous to continue the eat-guilt-berate-eat-guilt-berate pattern. This philosophy applies to everything in which you have the power to make a change.

While we have the power to change many of our physical attributes and conditions by dieting, exercising, using makeup, flattering clothing, etc. there may be some that are out of our control. Say you don’t like your nose or you have 6 toes on one foot but you don’t have the money to have surgery. Your only option is acceptance.

Why continue to waste your precious energy on scolding yourself, complaining, or feeling altogether bad about yourself? If you continue to behave in this way, you are actually CHOOSING to make yourself feel bad. Each and every day, you are choosing to put on your suit of negativity. What’s the point in that?

The bottom line – if there is something in life that is within your control to change, choose to change it or accept yourself as is … don’t sit in the middle unwilling to make the effort to change but unhappy. If there is something you have no power to change at this time, accept it.

But note … there are very few things that fall into this last category. Really question yourself or talk to friends about whether you are using your inability to change as an excuse.

It’s your responsibility to create a life you love. You deserve to live a fulfilling life every single day.