What if a well-informed, trusted authority figure said you had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way you think and act? If you didn't make those changes, you would die soon. A lot sooner than you had to. Could you change when change really mattered?
Yes, you say? Try again. Most likely you wouldn't change.
Don't believe me? Let me share with you the odds - 9 to 1. That's 9 to 1 against you. Do you realize a SMALL percent of the population consumes the VAST majority of the health care budget for diseases that are very well known, and by in large behavioral? Most are sick because of how we choose to live our lives, not because of any environmental or genetic factors beyond our control. Yes, even more than will die from COVID-19.
They say it could be as much as 80% of our health care budget is consumed by these behavioral issues - smoking, eating, drinking, stress and lack of exercise.
Do you think behaviors are driving issues in more than one area of our lives? Could we ultimately be in control of the aspects we felt were a product of conditions outside our control?
Do you want some more proof of the challenge we all face in change? There was a study done back in 1995 of people who went through bypass surgery (open heart surgery). Of those studied, within 2 years of having surgery, 90% of the patients went right back to their old unhealthy lifestyle.
So, if the fear of DEATH doesn’t initiate change - is there any hope? More importantly, how do we get our stubborn brain to stop resisting change? Why do we fight it even when we KNOW if we don’t it will kill us?
Well, knowing that motivating people with the fear of death wasn’t the right approach because 90% went right back to where they were before, the study tried a different approach. They decided to changed the patients' focus. Have any idea to what? The joy of LIVING.
The study took 300 patients and put a 100% daily effort into focusing their minds on all the daily things that make life great. They coached them on their mindset, their attitude, their daily habits, and surrounded them continually with the RIGHT influences. It was this change of focus - taking it away from the fear of death and into the joy of living that allowed 77% of the patients to sustain the lifestyle changes.
What changes do you need to make? Where is your focus - in fear or in joy? Its time to make some changes now!
Focus on joy!