It’s been a strange year.

Despite the overwhelm 2020 has created for many of us, if you’re anything like me, then you’ve carved out a little more time to reflect, focus on health and re-evaluate how you choose to spend your time and money.

No matter how many or how few of these questions have been circulating in your mind the last two months, I want you to think about a few things.

You are among countless other women who are thinking the exact same thoughts
It’s never too late to improve your health at the root cause
(Ask my 85 year old mother in law as she works on her gut health by avoiding key foods and switching up some bad habits while working with a Naturopath and Nutritionist)
You don’t have to do this alone
Healing is a process and there is no quick fix or magic pill

Your body has an incredible ability to heal itself if you give it the right support. You are not your genetics, meaning, you are not destined to be ‘just like your mother’. And you don’t need to tackle anything at full speed and/or by yourself. Slow and steady wins the race.

Embarking on a journey to health and balance takes work but even more than that, it takes self belief, awareness, and a sense of optimism. and mindset work.

So before we go into the top 3 questions to ask yourself before you embark on a journey to health, let me ask you this:

Do you believe that you’re capable of achieving optimal health (mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health), and even more importantly, do you believe you deserve it? And are you willing to put some work in and be patient?

Great.

Because if you answered “no”, then we have some work to do before you can start overhauling your diet and lifestyle. Which brings me to the first of 3 things you must do before embarking on a health journey:

1) Do you believe you are worth the investment?

You can’t just understand it, you have to believe it. Making changes means that you may be required to change some habits, people, and/or activities that no longer serve you. If you don’t believe that you’re worth the investment, then neither will anyone else in your life, and you may start to self sabotage. (perfect example is when spouse #1 sabotages healthy eating habits by bringing home donuts and spouse #2 caves)

This could be an investment in time, finances, or energy.

Depending on where you are right now in your health journey and what symptoms you’re dealing with, this investment may be small or large, but either way, if you’re not willing to invest in yourself and do the work, you’ll find yourself feeling stuck or ‘paralyzed into inaction’.

Self Reflection Time:

Write down the 5 things that are working against you, and keeping you from investing in yourself and your health.

**Here are some examples:**

A bad habit that costs a lot of money. (daily drive thru visits, a gym you never visit, daily ‘happy hours’, or ordering in)
A limiting belief that you’re carrying from your childhood. [not good enough is a biggie or mindset issues around money (that there is never enough)]
An unhealthy relationship with yourself or others.
A fear of committing.
A belief that everyone else is more important than you.
A fear of failure…or fear of success?

Take 3 deep breaths (focus on a longer exhalation) and ask for guidance with this process. God, Buddha, Spirit, Nature…whoever or whatever higher power you draw upon - ask for help. Write down anything that pops in, then write down 2 steps you can take to overcome each one of these obstacles, starting today.

For example:

One of my clients had to shift a negative money mindset around believing there was not enough to go around. She had to believe that it’s all about priorities and remind herself how rich she really was, (and she really was) I mean the majority of North Americans are still in the top 10 % of wealthy people in the world! It’s all about your perspective. Your mindset is everything. Ok…that was me. ;). At the end of the day, we put money into what we prioritize and I wasn’t prioritizing my health for many years.

2) Are you looking for help in all the wrong places?

When I first decided to adopt a plant based lifestyle in my 20s in my attempt to feel better, I hit resistance. My dad, as a European who grew up on meat and potatoes, thought I was going to die. My mom, who was just tired from working night shifts as a nurse while raising 3 kids, thought I was being selfish and difficult. Thankfully I believed in it enough to keep going and although I made some mistakes, it set me on my journey to improved health.

The same goes for you and the health journey that you’re on. Getting health advice from friends and family or the wrong professionals may hinder your progress.

Let me explain.

Your friends are not trained health professionals (or maybe they are, and you should be hiring them for their advice!), and their opinions may not be in your best interest. And what works for one person will not necessarily work for everyone. We are all different.

Despite the fact that they mean well, your friends and ‘google’ are probably only confusing you. And even worse, if they’re a friend who doesn’t mean well, (misery loves company) they may even try to hinder your progress, when in fact, you could be making great progress. “You don’t want to eat X? Why are you no fun anymore? Love your friends for their friendship and seek a professional for your health.

And google can easily draw your attention away to the next best diet. And we know diet’s don’t work - we are all unique.

Or, asking your fitness trainer for advice on nutrition may not be your best option either. It really depends but you’ll want to look in to the training they received. There are a LOT Of weekend nutrition courses out there! As Holistic Nutritionists, we attend a 2 year program with a co-op component that dives deep into all aspects of health and healing and we make continuous learning a priority. Here is our curriculum in case you were interested.