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Why should you have a personal wellness plan?
Maybe the question should be: why not have a personal wellness plan? If you think about it, we plan for so many important things in our life, why wouldn’t we make a plan for our overall well-being as well? Unfortunately most people take an ad-hoc approach to their health, like they do their wealth. When this happens you might miss some important things that need to be addressed. Or you might not take your current situation as seriously as you should. Both of these lead to you waking up years from now wondering what happened? How did you get to where you are now, and could you have done things differently?
Over the years I have spoken to many people regarding their financial needs later in life and not one has ever come back and told me that they wish they hadn’t saved as much money as they had. Usually it is that they wished they had saved more.
Your health is the same way – ask anyone in their later years how they feel about their health and most of them will say they wished they had taken it more seriously and had done things differently when they were younger.
If you think that might be your future, then now is the time to make that wish a reality!! Don’t wake up years from now wishing that you had!
Designing your own wellness plan is a strategic way to approach your overall health and well-being. A way to break down into pieces the areas of our health that need to be addressed then decide which one you want to make improvements on. Once you have one under control, you move to the next one. And just like you would (or should) with a financial plan, you need to review it at regular intervals to make sure you are still on track with your goals and assess what adjustments you need to make. Quarterly is probably best as you take on your actions steps and make improvements in your health.
Also just like any financial plan, business plan or project plan, the first few months or maybe years are going to be the hardest because you are either righting your ship or you are just getting started. You are laying the foundation or the ground work to leading a healthier life in all areas. And sometimes there is a lot of ground work to put in place! Ever watch a building going up or roads going in. It seems like forever that the area is in a state of chaos, months or even years. Dirt is everywhere and you really can’t figure out what is going on or if they are even making any progress at all. Then all of a sudden it’s done. The finishing touches are in place, the building or roads are complete, and you can now enjoy the finished product. There will still be some needed maintenance of course, but the hard part is done.
Your health is very similar. Sometimes there is a lot of groundwork that needs to be done, but once you do this, it is now maintenance and fine tuning. That is how a wellness plan will help you – it gives you a blueprint to refer back to when you are deciding what step to take next. You are the architect of what your wellness life should look like. And similar to any building or renovation project you decide what you want to do yourself, if you need to hire someone to help, or use some sort of technology, or maybe a combination of these things. The best part is that you get to choose what makes sense for you!
Not yet convinced that this will work – here are 10 reasons why creating a personal wellness plan can help you:
1 ~ It will help you define your wellness goals.
When you know what you want your future life to look like it helps you define what needs to happen today. What changes you need to make today so you can make your future a reality. Taking time to visualize or think about what good health and well-being looks like for you now and in your future will help drive your desire to change habits and/or create new ones.
2 ~ It will help you see whether your goals are realistic, especially for your timeline and situation.
We all have great aspirations for our health and wealth, but sometimes we need to have a better understanding of where we are starting from, what we are capable of doing, and what paths will get us there. It is not to say that our goals are unrealistic, rather it is to set proper expectations so that you will stick with your plan, especially when you have challenging days. Your road to your goals might be longer than you anticipated, yet still very much achievable.
3 ~ It will help you see how you can bring healthy habits in line with your goals.
Once you know where you’re headed and how long it might take to get you there, then you can take a deeper dive into how your current behaviors will either help or deter you from achieving them. Having a better idea of what you want your health to look like will clear the lens you look through when analyzing your current behaviors.
4 ~ It will show you what health choices you are making that are not in line with your goals.
The exercise of analyzing your behaviors often surprises people, they do not realize the unconscious daily habits that are sabotaging their well-being and wellness goals. It is an eye-opening experience that can help drive better choices that could improve your overall wellness.
5 ~ It will allow you to measure your progress on your goals.
Once a plan is in place, you can set up measurable goals, such as regularly exercising, eating healthier foods, or using a tool to manage your stress better. Having a set plan for these important health areas can provide a reference marker to track your success or to tweak your plan. 6 ~ It will help you find new ways to maximize your health spending.
Having a tool to objectively analyze your current habits, what you have going on in your life, and what you are actually willing to do to improve your health will help you filter through all those products and programs that are constantly vying for your attention and dollars. & There are several of them! When you know what and how you want to improve your health you control what you spend your money on, which will save you a ton. 7 ~ It will help you identify health risks you hadn’t thought of.
Part of your wellness plan is analyzing your current risks and having a better understanding of where you are starting from. Many people truly do not know what is going on inside their bodies, which can lead to greater health risks. By having a better understanding of what all those markers mean that your doctor measures can help you be a better patient when it comes to making changes to your life to improve them.
8 ~ It will make you more confident in the choices you make with your wellness programs and products.
Taking the time to truly assess what you like to do and what will integrate into your life will help you make better choices when it comes to your healthcare spending. It will keep you from falling into the trap of “well this worked for my friend why not for me?” and will help you stick with your program choices longer. This helps you stay focused on what types of programs or products will truly work for you. Choosing what will help you today so you will see greater progress toward your wellness goals and will stick with them.
9 ~ It will help you build healthy habits. When you have a plan for wellness that truly integrates into your life you are more likely to stick with it. Which means you are more likely to see results. Seeing positive change will help you keep those health habits you worked so hard to create. Which will help you take on more healthy habits.
10 ~ It will help you live a healthier life.
Having a plan for your wellness will help you become more confident in your ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle today and into your future years because you are more intentional with your wellness choices and can seamlessly integrate them into your life.
Whenever you have a plan for something the outcome is usually so much better. Taking the time to be intentional with your health is so very important. It is something you will not regret and will see great benefit from. I will continue to unpack this for you over the coming months to give you more ideas on how to create your own wellness plan.
If you are not a do-it-yourselfer or would like some help, please reach out to me to learn more about how I partner with you to develop a customized wellness plan to meet your individual needs. & As you will learn in future articles – I do not sell any pills, shakes, or magical overnight fixes. I take a fiduciary approach to wellness, helping you find what is the best fit for your life and situation. Click here to learn more about designing your own wellness strategy.
To your health and longevity!
~Kelly
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