At our offices, Crossroads Chiropractic, in Pembroke, Meredith, and Epping we focus on corrective chiropractic care, but people also come to us for advice on various lifestyle and health issues. Often these issues are exactly what you’d expect: weight, exercise, nutrition, quitting smoking, sleeping habits, etc. At the point an individual has decided to take the step to come to our office and seek information they are well ahead of the curve, but what about the rest of us? In my experience most people have at least one thing or sometimes many things they want to change in their health or life, but simply don’t. It can seem too big, too hard, or just like it will take too much effort. I’m right there too, sometimes!
It’s a strange phenomenon but it’s what I call being “comfortably wrong” (Pink Floyd might call it, “comfortably numb”). People are oddly content to keep their current habits, even as these practices slowly decrease health, quality of life, and even rob years from their lives . Couch potatoes stay seated. Smokers keep smoking. Twinkies don’t eat themselves. Netflix doesn’t binge itself. We stick with our harmful habits, because we wrongly believe it’s just easier to keep the status quo. Instead of trying, we often accept settling for less, which is on par with simply quitting. Deep down we know we are unhappy if we don’t feel well and aren’t being as healthy as possible, but that often does not create change. It’s Newton’s first law of motion: an object at rest stays at rest. In this situation we are just going to keep heading down the wrong road, because…..that’s what we do. We get caught in bad behavioral patterns. Work, eat, TV, sleep…..repeat for 50 years. This isn’t the life that we set out for, but it is often where we end up. Newton’s law also states that the aforementioned object at rest will stay there until put under unequal forces. Meaning: if something is going to get rolling it needs a push. Here’s the thing, living in a comfortably wrong way doesn’t change for people until we get a big push and unfortunately for most people that big push is something scary: a heart attack, cancer, or some other disease. This is what I want to encourage you to do: change now, don‘t wait for the bad to find you. Don’t let your health decisions be made for you, be proactive not reactive. Break free of living “comfortably wrong” by choice.
The first step is to decide that you want to change. Decide to be the responsible party for your future outcomes. There is truth in the idea that as you think, so you will be. This sounds simplistic, but truly it’s the key. Decide you are fed up and realize that “comfortably wrong” living is really not easier or even comfortable: it takes an expensive toll on your health, life, goals, mental state, and happiness. Next make two lists: the first list is a list of all the goals you want to accomplish. Goals like walking daily, saving money to travel, or fitting in to your old pants….whatever, it doesn’t matter, as long as its important to you. The second list is of people who are counting on you to make these changes. Living comfortably wrong is a selfish endeavor. It requires you to put your wants ahead of others. Family, friends, and co workers all count on you and need you in their lives. Don’t shortchange them, by living a unhealthy, unsatisfying life. Also, don’t forget to put yourself on that list because you deserve more too. Lastly, make a game plan or action steps. You’ve made the decision to change, you have in mind what you want to do, and who you need to do it for; now it’s time for action. In creating your game plan seek out people who have successfully achieved the goals you are after and talk to them. Now execute the plan! Accept it will be hard and challenging, but know that if you can hang on, it will get easier and easier. Remember the rest of Newton’s law: objects in motion stay in motion. Meaning: now that you are rolling towards your goals, you will keep right on going. Momentum, basically. All it takes is getting started! Don’t sleepwalk through life for the sake of convenience or ease. Find your passion or purpose and do not let go. It will be worth the effort and the struggle, because you are not fighting for something unimportant. You are fighting for yourself.