Can you imagine the day you conquer fear & change your lifestyle? How would that make you feel? How would it feel not to have that hanging over your head anymore?
You can conquer fear and change your lifestyle. I know it might not seem possible right now but consider it anyway.
How would that make you feel?
Would you feel free? Confident? Triumphant? Maybe even victorious! Would you feel better? Maybe even healthier?
This post provides five simple steps to help you conquer fear and change your lifestyle. You can use the links below to jump to a specific section of interest for your convenience.
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Experts say that public speaking is the most common fear. But I have to disagree. I don’t think that is true anymore.
I think the most common fear is the thought of having to change our lifestyles.
That’s right. I think giving up food that tastes good is the most common fear.
Or the feeling of muscle pain.
Or no caffeine. No alcohol. Or no nicotine.
No salt.
I think the fear of making a lifestyle change is now the most common cause of concern among adults. However, we don’t talk about it in the context of fear.
But I know how it feels.
Like you, I struggle with changing my eating habits and getting more exercise.
What do we picture when we think about implementing lifestyle changes? Many of us imagine the full-on-board extreme diet and exercise regimens we see online and on TV.
And that is scary!
We also give lots of reasons not to make lifestyle changes.
We [___]:
- Will be embarrassed.
- Think it will be uncomfortable or will hurt.
- Don’t have time.
- Won’t be able to stick to it.
- Can’t handle all of it.
- Believe that we can’t afford it.
- Will get overwhelmed.
- Think that no one else is struggling or feels this way.
- Believe we will fail.
These are not real reasons. The real reason – or at least the actual reason behind the reasons we give above – is fear.
But this is the truth:
Self-care, or how we care for ourselves before (or to prevent) disease, is often more important than what medicine can do for us after disease.
We cannot afford to let fear stand in our way.
We must conquer our fear!
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Listed below are five simple ways to overcome the fear and anxiety related to making a lifestyle change:
1. Conquer Fear and Change Your Lifestyle – With Your Attitude
We need to move away from the mentality that fear is the barrier to change toward the acceptance that fear is just a natural part of making a change!
Fear comes with any change.
But the transition is rarely successful when rooted in negative thoughts such as guilt, worry, or regret. Experts tell us that change is more successful when it is rooted in self-motivation and positive thinking.
It’s ok to be afraid, but focus on success instead!
We can be afraid and succeed anyway!
Looking for a way to stay motivated to take better care of yourself? Click my affiliate link to check out my Bible study.
2. Understand the Real Value
Improving nutritional intake, smoking cessation, drinking less alcohol, and increasing physical activity to reduce our health risk factors are helpful activities to improve.
They are not punishments.
Being told we need to make lifestyle changes is for our benefit (not because our doctor doesn’t like us anymore!). It will help us have a healthier future and a higher quality of life.
Now, and for the likelihood of independent functioning (without help from a device, caregiver, or nursing home) later in life.
Changing our lifestyle can lead us to healthy aging. That seems relevant.
At least 30 years ago, I remember hearing the science proving exercise and diet modification could stop or reverse type II diabetes.
That was an incredible shift in thinking!
Now we know:
- Some chronic diseases have unknown or unproven causes
- Many chronic conditions are costing our country money, and do not have cures
- Chronic diseases can progress and cause death
- Chronic diseases cause preventable disability and premature death
Many chronic diseases are manageable, reversible, or preventable with lifestyle changes to reduce risk factors.
3. Conquer Fear and Change Your Lifestyle – Have Realistic Expectations of Ourselves
It is so essential for us to be realistic.
Slow and steady will win this race!
For some of us, things will be harder. For most of us, there will be barriers.
There has been some evidence that comprehensive, organized programs have positive outcomes. But they come at a high cost to the user, and it is unclear which portions of these programs create/promote/cause success.
There is also value (and evidence) that making one significant change over 1-2 months (vs. all at once) is the best way to go without a big support program.
Work to change one thing at a time, set measurable and attainable goals, and work for the vast purpose, not the small win.
And find a partner or group and succeed together!
Problems arise when we try to do too much, too fast, and work alone.
4. Preparation and Planning – The Key to Conquer Fear and Change Your Lifestyle
Overcoming fear and changing your lifestyle need to be given due attention.
Organize and plan your day.
For example, if you’re working on eating healthier, do your homework. That means making menu plans and preparing as much of your breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner as possible ahead of time.
Just like with public speaking, preparation is the key to success.
Consider treating the journey of lifestyle changes like taking college classes or getting a new part-time job. It requires your full attention.
5. The Power of Faith
Finally, cling to your faith.
Lean on it. Pray, read Scripture verses, and ask for God’s help.
In Psalms 56:3 (NLT), we read, “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”
In scripture, God repeatedly promises to help us when we are afraid. And He does.
We, as Christians, have no reason to fear. Think about various song lyrics and Bible verses when fear enters your mind while changing your lifestyle.
Are you applying your faith to this aspect of your life? What can you do today to make this happen?
Are you asking God for help?
In closing, you can conquer fear and change your lifestyle.
You will succeed when you focus on improving your attitude, understand why you are making a change, set realistic expectations, prepare and plan, and, most importantly, cling to the power of your faith.
Ask yourself what you can start doing differently today. Take your first little step now and consider your attitude towards changing your lifestyle.
Is starting your barrier? I get it! It can be stressful and overwhelming when you begin improving your self-care.
If you need help finding time to take better care of yourself, get my starter guide HERE.
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Post originally published February 28, 2018
Be sure to grab your FREE Self-care Starter Guide! Lisa Kimrey is a 33-year veteran registered nurse (RN), speaker, and author of the Bible study, The Self-care Impact: Motivation and Inspiration for Wellness. At Mylifenurse, Lisa combines her nursing expertise with Scripture-based encouragement to show readers who serve and care for others how to begin and maintain their self-care journey – without feeling guilty or overwhelmed – to feel happy, healthy, and rejuvenated.