Blogpost: I get to..

I have to go to work. I get vacation days. I have to go to the dentist. I get to go out to dinner. We have an attitude about the experience before we ever start to do it just by how we frame it. You may be thinking that I will never look forward to going to the dentist. But if you have a tooth ache, and he can save your tooth and eliminate pain, you might change your attitude. I like my dentist and hygienist very much so I don’t really want to pick on the dentistry field, but it saves medical doctors from being lower on the ladder of dislikes. Anyway, what if you were to frame it, I get to go to the dentist in order to prevent gum disease and keep my teeth nice and shinny. Everyone loves a shinny smile, and gum disease is associated with inflammation and even heart disease. Suddenly, going to the dentist becomes an opportunity to achieve less pain and more health.

If your exercise or nutrition program is associated with I have to instead of I get to, your attitude could be holding you back from your potential achievements. If you were required to sit in a chair all day and only get up to go to the restroom, you would see it as a form of torture. However, many people sit in a chair most of the day starring at a screen of some type. The thought of getting up to move is what they are avoiding. I get to go run, I will be back.

I like to run in the morning. The sun is coming up and it is peaceful. It is a form of meditation to me. Great ideas come to me while running. If I defer until evening, then I am stressed that something or someone might interfere. Exercise is part of my daily routine, and I know when and what I am going to do each day. I also have goals that I want to accomplish for each session. My nutrition is important to me. I know what I am going to eat and grocery shop on the weekend for the meals. There is no stress about what I am going to cook. I get to cook nutritious, delicious food and look forward to the process.

What if you don’t? What if you hate to cook or you hate to exercise. The alternatives are eating food that someone else prepared and not exercising. Some people call the treadmill the dread-mill. Some people don’t want to be “tied to” the kitchen. That does not sound like fun. But what if you framed it differently. Exercise can not only lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes, but it can actually improve your healthy longevity. What you eat certainly affects your health, and plant based nutrition can reverse lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. What we tell ourselves frames our mindset towards ourselves and our activities. I don’t like to exercise. I am not an athlete. I don’t have time. I am in too much pain to exercise. I need my rest. Let’s try it a different way. It may take stating an affirmation out loud every day until you become the statement. Is that lying to yourself. No because you are going to become what you state. I have the ability to reverse disease through what I eat and how I move. By exercising, I will become more fit and healthy. I am an athlete. I am a _____. I care about my health and my family’s health so I am the cook of the house. I choose to eat plant based because I care about my health. I enjoy eating colorful, delicious foods and there are millions of new plant based recipes to try and share with my family. I am healthy and no one will take that away from me. I deserve to be healthy, and I am in full control of my health. I believe that I can become healthier by what I eat, and I choose to eat plant based. Say it. Believe it. You get to own it.

The sky is the limit when you believe you can achieve. So congratulations, you get to be healthy.