It might be tough, but sometimes change can actually be good for you. Thus, to be able to embrace change you have to stay positive. This can sometimes be easier said than done, though, as even if you find yourself stuck in a rut, you may simply convince yourself that it could be worse, so that you don't bother to do anything about it. If you hate your job or are stuck in an unhappy relationship you just tell yourself that at least you have a job and a partner, even though there could be better options out there for you. There are so many choices these days that you can feel somewhat overwhelmed, but it is surely better to try something different, even if there is a chance it may not work out how you planned than to simply accept a situation that makes you miserable.
Clearly, you cannot ignore the possibility that changing an aspect of your life could have unintended consequences that may not always be beneficial. Changing jobs may help you to achieve greater job satisfaction and to earn more money, but you may find yourself working longer hours, which may have a detrimental impact on your family life. It may be that you decide to change your living arrangements and move to a different town. This can lead to new work and social opportunities, but it also could also take its toll on the people you leave behind and affect your ability to stay in contact with friends and family. Sometimes, it can be helpful to weigh up the pros and cons of making a change and to decide whether it's really worth it.
In most cases, if you're contemplating making a significant change in your life, it means that there is something you're unhappy with. If you were completely happy with your body, your job, your social life and your relationship status, you wouldn't spend as much time considering all the other potential options out there. If you find yourself daydreaming about what could be on a regular basis, because you are so dissatisfied with real life, then you're the only one who can change it. There's no point waiting for someone to change your life for you. It might be tempting to wait and wait to see if something random happens to alter your life, but you could be waiting for a very long time.
You may want to believe that you're going to bump into the love of your life whilst doing your shopping, but if you are interested in starting a relationship with someone you are better off taking up a hobby or joining an online dating service and putting yourself out there than waiting around, hoping such a random event will occur. It is better to be proactive in trying to change your life rather than waiting around, bored but hopeful. You need to face up to the fact that it is up to you to take control of your own life. It is within you to take action and to change whichever aspects of your life you are unhappy with. Change can be scary, but it can also lead to wonderful experiences, relationships and events which you would otherwise miss out on.
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Friday, 10 January 2014
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Why Change can be Good
If change is so good for you, why do so many people resist it? Well, change can be good, but it can also be a hassle. Even though you may loathe your job, at least you have security, but if you decided to change your job you have to update your CV, start looking around at the other jobs available and apply to different positions. You might be successful, then have to attend an interview or several and you may even secure a new job, but for all you know you could end up hating that as much as your old job. It is therefore easier to simply accept your situation, even if there is the potential to actually improve your life.
Just look at how many people are unhappy in a relationship, yet they continue to stick with it. Again, it's a case of 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't.' If you leave your partner, you don't know what might happen and that is a scary prospect. Friends may abandon you; you might end up fighting with your former partner over the custody of your pets or children or about who gets the house; you could end up struggling financially. Plus, you could end up alone, and even if you argue with your partner frequently, at least there is someone who's there for you.
There are other changes you can make to your life, such as moving to a different place - whether house, city or country - or changing the way you live your life - avoiding clubbing and alcohol and becoming more health conscious, so that you eat less junk food, exercise regularly and adopt a healthier lifestyle in general. Clearly, moving gives you new and exciting opportunities, as you can meet people, find a different job and improve your prospects. Changing your lifestyle can also have benefits, enabling you to extend your life and feel better in yourself. Yet, to embrace change requires motivation.
Where does this motivation come from? Often the motivation to change comes as a result of an unexpected event. It could be that you're forced to change your lifestyle after suffering from health problems, or to move to a new town because you have lost your job. You may be happy with the job you have, only for a new manager to be appointed who you don't get along with, or your circumstances may change so that you need more money and, thus, a new job. Sometimes, people realise they're stuck in a situation that's making them unhappy and decide to set a date for them to get their act together.
Obviously, many people choose to make New Year's resolutions, because they want to change, but need some kind of impetus. You know you're not alone in wanting to make a change during the New Year, and if you fail, you know there are also others in a similar position to yourself. Change can be good, but finding the motivation to change can be more challenging, especially when you don't know what the outcome will be. Sometimes, it's easier to just stick with the familiar, even if you don't find it to be completely satisfying.
Just look at how many people are unhappy in a relationship, yet they continue to stick with it. Again, it's a case of 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't.' If you leave your partner, you don't know what might happen and that is a scary prospect. Friends may abandon you; you might end up fighting with your former partner over the custody of your pets or children or about who gets the house; you could end up struggling financially. Plus, you could end up alone, and even if you argue with your partner frequently, at least there is someone who's there for you.
There are other changes you can make to your life, such as moving to a different place - whether house, city or country - or changing the way you live your life - avoiding clubbing and alcohol and becoming more health conscious, so that you eat less junk food, exercise regularly and adopt a healthier lifestyle in general. Clearly, moving gives you new and exciting opportunities, as you can meet people, find a different job and improve your prospects. Changing your lifestyle can also have benefits, enabling you to extend your life and feel better in yourself. Yet, to embrace change requires motivation.
Where does this motivation come from? Often the motivation to change comes as a result of an unexpected event. It could be that you're forced to change your lifestyle after suffering from health problems, or to move to a new town because you have lost your job. You may be happy with the job you have, only for a new manager to be appointed who you don't get along with, or your circumstances may change so that you need more money and, thus, a new job. Sometimes, people realise they're stuck in a situation that's making them unhappy and decide to set a date for them to get their act together.
Obviously, many people choose to make New Year's resolutions, because they want to change, but need some kind of impetus. You know you're not alone in wanting to make a change during the New Year, and if you fail, you know there are also others in a similar position to yourself. Change can be good, but finding the motivation to change can be more challenging, especially when you don't know what the outcome will be. Sometimes, it's easier to just stick with the familiar, even if you don't find it to be completely satisfying.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Learning to Embrace Lifestyle Change for Weight Loss
Many people find themselves failing to maintain a healthy weight because of their poor lifestyle habits. Clearly, if you eat too much junk food and never bother to exercise, there is a good chance you're going to pile on the pounds. If you end up heavier than you'd like to be, instead of making changes to your lifestyle, you may be inclined to do something drastic in order to lose weight quickly. This is clearly not the best way to go about losing weight, as many people who opt to follow a fad diet or have surgery end up gaining weight just as quickly as they lost it.
Consequently, if you want to lose weight, you have to be prepared to make some adjustments to your lifestyle, so that not only will you lose weight; you will have very little difficulty keeping it off as well. This is important, because it is demoralising to watch your weight constantly yo-yoing up and down, whilst it is hardly good for your health either. By making a few changes to your lifestyle, you will be able to watch the weight come off slowly but surely and put yourself in a better position to maintain a healthy weight in the long run.
Ultimately, to control your weight you have to find the right balance between the number of calories you put into your body compared to the number of calories your body burns. Thus, the most fundamental changes will have to be to your eating and exercise habits. If you do a lot of exercise, you can obviously get away with eating more calories than if you lead a completely sedentary lifestyle. It is therefore worth trying to incorporate some exercise into your day – preferably something that elevates your heart rate and leaves you feeling out of breath.
Ideally, you should be getting at least half an hour of exercise a day, anyway, but even if you can't manage that amount, anything is surely better than nothing. You simply need to find activities that you can slot into your day, so that exercise becomes a habit and you just do it without thinking about it. Walking more is a good start, though there are plenty of other activities and sports that you could try. The more intensity you put into your workout, the more calories you burn, but the most important thing is to choose an activity that you don't actually mind doing!
Even if you exercise regularly, you still need to examine your diet to see where improvements can be made in order to achieve weight loss. If you make more effort to exercise, you may be inclined to 'treat' yourself rather frequently to something sugary and calorific, but this obviously won't help you to achieve your weight-loss goal any quicker. You therefore have to pay more attention to the calories you consume and try to make sure you pick foods that provide you with the right nutritional balance, rather than reaching for junk food all the time. You will need complex carbohydrates to give you the energy required for you to exercise and do everything you normally do, whilst protein will help to repair any muscle damage that can occur during exercise.
You need to make watching what you eat and doing exercise your new normality if you want to lose weight and keep it off. You may not achieve results quite as quickly as you would if you went on a fad diet for a few weeks or months, but at least you have a realistic chance of keeping the weight off. Clearly, this is better for your mind and body. Of course, life can sometimes get in the way of your weight-loss plans, which is why you need to try to prioritise healthy living and focus on your well-being. Although this is sometimes easier said than done, you don't want your health to suffer later down the line, because you failed to address your weight problem in a sensible way.
Consequently, if you want to lose weight, you have to be prepared to make some adjustments to your lifestyle, so that not only will you lose weight; you will have very little difficulty keeping it off as well. This is important, because it is demoralising to watch your weight constantly yo-yoing up and down, whilst it is hardly good for your health either. By making a few changes to your lifestyle, you will be able to watch the weight come off slowly but surely and put yourself in a better position to maintain a healthy weight in the long run.
Ultimately, to control your weight you have to find the right balance between the number of calories you put into your body compared to the number of calories your body burns. Thus, the most fundamental changes will have to be to your eating and exercise habits. If you do a lot of exercise, you can obviously get away with eating more calories than if you lead a completely sedentary lifestyle. It is therefore worth trying to incorporate some exercise into your day – preferably something that elevates your heart rate and leaves you feeling out of breath.
Ideally, you should be getting at least half an hour of exercise a day, anyway, but even if you can't manage that amount, anything is surely better than nothing. You simply need to find activities that you can slot into your day, so that exercise becomes a habit and you just do it without thinking about it. Walking more is a good start, though there are plenty of other activities and sports that you could try. The more intensity you put into your workout, the more calories you burn, but the most important thing is to choose an activity that you don't actually mind doing!
Even if you exercise regularly, you still need to examine your diet to see where improvements can be made in order to achieve weight loss. If you make more effort to exercise, you may be inclined to 'treat' yourself rather frequently to something sugary and calorific, but this obviously won't help you to achieve your weight-loss goal any quicker. You therefore have to pay more attention to the calories you consume and try to make sure you pick foods that provide you with the right nutritional balance, rather than reaching for junk food all the time. You will need complex carbohydrates to give you the energy required for you to exercise and do everything you normally do, whilst protein will help to repair any muscle damage that can occur during exercise.
You need to make watching what you eat and doing exercise your new normality if you want to lose weight and keep it off. You may not achieve results quite as quickly as you would if you went on a fad diet for a few weeks or months, but at least you have a realistic chance of keeping the weight off. Clearly, this is better for your mind and body. Of course, life can sometimes get in the way of your weight-loss plans, which is why you need to try to prioritise healthy living and focus on your well-being. Although this is sometimes easier said than done, you don't want your health to suffer later down the line, because you failed to address your weight problem in a sensible way.
Friday, 29 November 2013
Learning to Change Your Eating Habits
Eating habits are developed over a period of time and so it is never easy to change them, as your inclination is always to stick with the familiar. Sometimes you have no choice but to look at your eating habits and to start making changes to them, though, especially if you're overweight and desperate to change the situation. You may be tempted to go down the route of fad diets, believing this will help you, but such an approach will not fundamentally alter your eating habits. As soon as you come off a diet, you just go back to your old way of eating, which takes you right back to square one.
Consequently, you have to look for ways to improve upon the eating habits you already have, so that it won't seem like such a drastic switch. This could mean doing something as simple as eating wholegrain bread instead of white and replacing white pasta for whole wheat, whilst using semi-skimmed milk instead of full-fat. Of course, these changes alone won't lead to weight loss if you don't significantly reduce your calorie intake, so you consume fewer calories than you burn. However, by adopting healthier eating habits you won't get the highs and lows associated with eating a junk-food rich diet.
If your blood sugar levels are constant, you may occasionally want a chocolate bar, but you won't actually crave it, which makes it much easier to stay on track and to eat the right kinds of food. When you always have plenty of energy, you won't be reaching for sugary treats and struggling to concentrate on anything other than when you can next eat. Indeed, it isn't only what you eat that you need to tackle, but also how often you eat. If one of your habits is skipping meals, this needs to change if you are to keep your metabolism high and avoid sudden drops in your energy levels. You need to eat regularly throughout the day and give yourself enough time to digest your meals.
If you decide to eat meals every few hours, you obviously have to be conscious of portion sizes, as otherwise you will end up consuming far too many calories. Although it is important to eat regularly and to avoid skipping meals, you have to be careful not to serve huge portions every time you eat, something which is very easy to do. When you have a weight problem, the chances are you've picked up some bad habits, including eating too much of the wrong kinds of food. Therefore, in trying to retrain yourself to eat better you have to tackle these issues. Change won't happen overnight, but the main thing is to keep working at it, so you can lead a healthier, happier life.
Consequently, you have to look for ways to improve upon the eating habits you already have, so that it won't seem like such a drastic switch. This could mean doing something as simple as eating wholegrain bread instead of white and replacing white pasta for whole wheat, whilst using semi-skimmed milk instead of full-fat. Of course, these changes alone won't lead to weight loss if you don't significantly reduce your calorie intake, so you consume fewer calories than you burn. However, by adopting healthier eating habits you won't get the highs and lows associated with eating a junk-food rich diet.
If your blood sugar levels are constant, you may occasionally want a chocolate bar, but you won't actually crave it, which makes it much easier to stay on track and to eat the right kinds of food. When you always have plenty of energy, you won't be reaching for sugary treats and struggling to concentrate on anything other than when you can next eat. Indeed, it isn't only what you eat that you need to tackle, but also how often you eat. If one of your habits is skipping meals, this needs to change if you are to keep your metabolism high and avoid sudden drops in your energy levels. You need to eat regularly throughout the day and give yourself enough time to digest your meals.
If you decide to eat meals every few hours, you obviously have to be conscious of portion sizes, as otherwise you will end up consuming far too many calories. Although it is important to eat regularly and to avoid skipping meals, you have to be careful not to serve huge portions every time you eat, something which is very easy to do. When you have a weight problem, the chances are you've picked up some bad habits, including eating too much of the wrong kinds of food. Therefore, in trying to retrain yourself to eat better you have to tackle these issues. Change won't happen overnight, but the main thing is to keep working at it, so you can lead a healthier, happier life.
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