Health is all about self-awareness.

The same decisions will have different levels of perceived effort and effectiveness for two different people. One could be struggling to pass on the extra cookie while another may not even notice the cookie jar on the the table. This means the first step to becoming the healthy person you know you can be means embracing where you are in life today. 

So, if our current lifestyle is grounded in our previous actions, then here are some small but impactful mental shifts that can help you obtain self-awareness. 

1. Every single professional athlete, trainer, and instructor started like you. 

If you don’t accept where you are today, you’re not going to make it. 

If you try to compare yourself to fitness trainers and professional athletes, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

If you train with others at a drastically different fitness level, you’re putting yourself in a position to let insecurities get the better of you.

When you are able to embrace that you are at the start of your health journey, you will become aware that every single positive action and nonaction is a step in the right direction. Celebrate the little wins. Deciding to live a life healthy lifestyle is not a single decision; it is a constant series of conscious (and eventually unconscious) choices that move you toward an end goal.

2. You’re better off training 1 hour for 5 days, than 5 hours one day. 

Consistency is the key to progression. 

There’s something to be said for the excitement to get back in the gym and the eagerness to start training. But too often, people jump from one extreme to the other; they go from not having trained for months to trying to jump right back into their old strength numbers and from eating takeout and cheeseburgers to trying to cook every meal and eating only salads. 

As a basic rule of thumb: master one skill before moving on to the next. Set a singular specific intention with a specific timeline. Determine the highest priority area you want to improve, create 30-day plan to achieve it, take action, check in on results, and adjust the plan as needed. Only after mastering this new skill should you try to tackle the next. 

3. You don’t “become” healthy. You find ways to practice living a healthy lifestyle – and become “healthy” as a result. 

Change doesn’t happen overnight, it is a constant, iterative messy process. 

Yes, there will be times when you take 3 steps forward. 

But there will also be times when you have to take 2 steps back. 

There is no point in time when, all of a sudden, you “become” healthy. It’s not a final outcome or an achievement you can proudly display. Being healthy is about practicing a healthy lifestyle more often than not, it is about implementing a series of healthy habits on a daily basis.

Don’t ask “How can I be healthier?” 

Ask “How can I practice being healthy today?”