‘You’ Before ‘I’ is a Powerful Tool for Healthy Choices

Workout Works Out when we Prioritize Others’ Needs

Imagine these scenarios:

• A class with teacher/ without a teacher
• An office with the boss around/without the boss around
• An exam hall with a supervisor/without a supervisor
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In each of the scenarios, the fate of the situation would be worse beyond imagination without the head of the office/school/exam hall present among fellow employees/students. These indicate the extent of self-discipline a person portrays given the circumstances to act according to his/her will. Born into this world alone, we are constantly surrounded by people who help, monitor, encourage and overtake us throughout our life. We have people who help us at every stage of life-parents during childhood, teachers in school through our academic years, bosses in companies and friends/spouses who stay with us through the thick and thin of situations meanwhile. Even though our parents exist as pillars of strength until their last breath at some point we start ignoring their valuable suggestions and take reign of our own lives. While some handle it perfectly many of us fail to make use of our independence and end up pushing our life into shackles.

Strike While the Iron is Hot
Most times we prioritize others needs and fulfill their requirements before focusing on ours. Food is not a divine exception to this. Despite realizing the goodness of certain foods and the advantages of eating some of those daily, we are tempted to go for the burgers and French fries at the restaurant or spread a generous dollop of butter and jam on the bread when no one’s around the house. Exercising too faces the same mishap. You know that you need to go for a walk or stretch yourself to stay fit and reduce the chances of arthritis problems that’s been haunting your mom since ages, but you don’t feel ready-enough to forsake your sleep and get geared to go for a walk or exercise in the park. A new research comes as a full stop to all these lame excuses and procrastinated habits and it might just be a short while before you get on track and start realizing changes for the better.

Except for a rare few government ads and hoardings that reach people with the intended message most of the public health messages deflect people’s attention as these ads are often filled with information that you and I don’t want to hear. Results will never be favorable when you ask an alcoholic person to stop drinking, request a smoker to stop smoking or ask a couch potato to move around more often. Rather they bring out the self-defensiveness lurking around us (as these suggestions indicate our lack of discipline and bad choices) and protest against these healthy choices too. The knack of getting things done depends entirely on our smart choices and shrewd ways of handling difficult situations.

Love for Others Develops Love for Oneself
A new study has found that when people think beyond themselves and focus their thoughts on others or are involved in spiritual thoughts, they are likelier to become more active. The study involved 220 overweight/obese sedentary adults who were fit into one of the two self-transcendence group or a control group. One set of people in the self-transcendence group were asked to think about their loved ones or God while the other set was asked to make positive wishes for people whom they knew or even for strangers. The control group was asked to think about their least-important values or principles. All the participants were repeatedly flashed with health messages that requested them to do physical activity and also explain about the ill consequences of staying their present self in the long run. For example, they were shown messages that showed that staying active strengthened their muscles, using the stairs instead of the elevator was suggested for a quick work out or that sedentary behavior increased the risk of heart diseases.

Participants were monitored on their daily activities using fitness trackers and comparisons showed that people in either of the self-transcendence groups were more active in the ensuing months and activities in brain areas responsible for positive feelings and thoughts were much pronounced. Researchers indicate that people often do things and deeds for their loved ones that otherwise they would never do for themselves. The quality of self-transcendence (caring for others before caring for oneself) is a great tool for change. Realize the power of love and the advantages of using it rightly by visiting the website www.firsteatright.com.

Next time when you want to have a cheesy pizza, stay sedentary or eat junk daily it is effective to bring the results of the above study in your mind. Such pleasures have a long-term side effect that impact your health badly making you vulnerable for heart diseases. Such consequences are sure to worry your loved ones and only if you are healthy can you think of leading a happy and peaceful life with your near and dear ones. Hence, these stand as motivating factors to accomplish your health goals and stay fit relishing every day of life.