Chances are, as the new year rolls around, you have been thinking of a New Year’s Resolution. Very often, these resolutions include health-related things like… losing weight, exercising more, eating better, etc. But, do you find yourself at this place every year?
If so, I have some thoughts on this. So many people make “resolutions” and they wish for them. Things like weight loss, motivation to work out, etc. At the same time, they fail to really address WHY they want these things.
So, here is my challenge to you as you look at the New Year and focus on your goals, whether health-related or not: Ask yourself what is behind your desire. Here is an example…
If you have been struggling with 30 extra pounds, ask yourself why losing weight matters. Will it give you more confidence? Help you with your blood pressure or blood sugar? If you
think it will help normalize your blood sugar, why is that important to you? Did you watch a loved on struggle with diabetes? End up missing toes? Did you watch him or her struggle to remember details because of the brain fog that comes with blood sugar issues?
Many times, there is a financial component to health-related issues. For example, people with diagnosed diabetes incur average medical expenditures of $16,752 per year, of which about $9,601 is attributed to diabetes. On average, people with diagnosed diabetes have medical expenditures approximately 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.” (1) And then, there are the indirect costs:
- Increased absenteeism ($3.3 billion)
- Reduced productivity while at work ($26.9 billion) for the employed population
- Reduced productivity for those not in the labor force ($2.3 billion)
- Inability to work as a result of disease-related disability ($37.5 billion)
- Lost productive capacity due to early mortality ($19.9 billion) (1)
Suddenly, it isn’t about losing weight any more. There is more on the line. Once you get see the real cost, it is much more sobering. Then, you begin to ask “What happens if I don’t address this?” You will most likely reach the conclusion that investing in fixing the issue before it gets to the point of a diagnosis is a much better option.
Once people get this dialed in, motivation is much easier because their WHY is much more powerful.
So, this is my challenge to you as you think about resolutions this year. Do a bit of soul searching, maybe even journaling. Ask yourself the questions. I think you will have much more success if you do this!
If you need a bit of help digging in to your health-related issues, consider a FREE consult to figure out if high-performance health coaching is a good fit for you. I very often find that connecting with your personalized health data provides just the information you need to make progress in an area that has held you back before.
Hope this helps!
Happy New Year… I hope it’s your healthiest ever!
Dr. Jeni
(1) https://www.diabetes.org/resources/statistics/cost-diabetes
