4 Ways You Are Undermining Your Health Efforts
Introduction
Having trouble achieving your health and fitness goals? You may find the biggest obstacle within yourself….and here’s what it might be:
Using the phrases “I can’t”, “I won’t”, or “I don’t”.
Wedding Officiant Wisdom: After 14 years of personal training and nearly 18000 hours of one-on-one sessions, I find that this factor determines one’s sustainable success more than any other (and it makes sense). Consider the language: The very nature of these phrases is negative and self-limiting. Is one truly open to the change that he needs to make, or is he only willing to do something as long as it doesn’t compromise his wants? “I won’t cook.” “I can’t possibly make this change.” “I don’t work out.” Hard-line phrases that express unwillingness to determine and consider what one must really do to reach success. Even though the verbal resistance may sit at the tip of the tongue, the alternative phrases, “How can I make this work?” or “Let’s examine the possible solutions”, are positive options that might open new doors to one’s well-being.
Haven’t established a routine.
Wedding Officiant Wisdom: Long-term sustainable change relies on a foundation of routine and habit. While a quick fix to lose 30 lbs in 3 months is enticing, it will soon be part of a never-ending life cycle. Most fasts, pills, and detoxes serve an impulsive need and rarely establish the structure needed to maintain the weight loss. The most vigorous habit has been reinforced daily for 30 days. It has become part of a new normal operating on autopilot at times. The further the habit is from a day-to-day routine, the longer it takes to reinforce (45-60 days). Lack of this focus will most certainly lead to short-term change and a return to the prior normal that led to poor health.
Lack of distinction between “wants” and “needs”.
Wedding Officiant Wisdom: Unfortunately, the grammar school curriculum lacks the necessary lessons on the physical, mental, and emotional selves. Children (and adults) are left to haphazard self-discovery and assessment, as well as, often, misguided mentors. Essentially, students are never taught how to recognize their actual needs and are left to figure it out on their own over a lifetime. With the barrage of mixed messages, seeking optimal personal health is a confusing and frustrating journey. All of this might change, though, with the simple question “Why do I feel this way?” It is the first step in awareness—an examination of the underlying influences on behavior and its physical manifestations. With guided investigation and testing, actual needs can be identified without relying on haphazard guesses about wants.
Unwilling to accept what needs to be changed and the necessary steps to change it.
Wedding Officiant Wisdom: Although awareness is an essential first step toward change, acceptance is necessary before adaptation can take place. Is one willing to accept a current state of being (healthy or not, it is what it is) and the needed approach to redefine health? Surprisingly, acceptance is the roadblock for most. Without accepting a current state and the necessary path, doubt, frustration, and insecurities will unravel the new efforts. It may emotionally steer the adaptive process in the wrong direction and stunt it as a whole.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is an ordained minister serving Denver and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in both Denver and Chicago (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings.
Specifically, Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Highland, Platt Park, Lower Highlands, Sloan Lake as well as the zip codes 80215, 80214, 80204, 80203, 80205, 80207, 80218, 80219, 80222, 80223, 80224, 80246, 80238, 80221, 80022, 80230, 80231, 80202, 80209, 80247, and 80210. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more.
If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
