5 Steps To A Healthier Lifestyle

There is no good jump-shot, golf swing, or backhand without a follow through—or so I'm told; I never played those sports. I was a martial arts guy, and my Tae Kwon Do teacher would say, "Ayinde, you have to aim past your target!" A roundhouse to the face is twice as powerful when you aim for a spot beyond your opponent's head instead of focusing on the immediate goal of the face. The point and the ko come as a result of the initial action. I had trouble understanding that.

My point is that it's never about the goal. It's about the follow through. If your goal is to live a healthier, more productive life, then it's not over when you finally get that six pack max. It's about maintaining it. Creating habits are easy — it takes 21 days to create one. It's just that the bad ones are more fun (smoking, drinking, unprotected sex). It's the good ones with no immediate satisfaction, like eating your veggies, food combining, and curbing sugar intake that are hard to wrap our heads around. So here is where I tell you what I think...

I am a bit of an amateur scientist, so I suggest using your body's chemistry and natural functions to your benefit in order to get you to the long haul. (I also do minor self surgery, but that's another blog post.) And this:

1. Create good habits similar to how athletes develop their intense routines, by sheer repetition.
2. Incorporate healthy options into your diet, one at a time (i.e. change your morning cereal). Stick to the routine and add another.
3. Create a reward system by giving yourself a free meal one day per week. You get to eat whatever you want. The more you look forward to it, the bigger the endorphin rush.
4. Set realistic goals and keep moving your goalposts like adding weights to a bench press.
5. Creating good habits is simple, but you need a target for which to aim that follow through — whether it's living to 100, reducing your carbon footprint, or just trying to create your own "situation" or get laid (the strongest motivation for most men).

The older I get the more that lesson of aiming past the target and following through makes sense.

That's my 2 cents on it.

Peace.