Spring is officially here and the perfect time to recommit to your health and your children’s health. Not that you have completely ignored health but this past year our priorities have shifted a bit.
What does it mean to be committed to something? What is something you’re committed to?
I don’t mean something you want, think about, or are interested in.
I mean something that you’d move mountains for!
That’s how I feel about my children’s health.
When I was younger, I had a very good friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer. What made it harder was that she had watched her mother die early from cancer and she was so worried she’d inflict the same pain on own her children.
I then watched my in-laws suffer for years from diseases like lung cancer which slowly killed my mother-in-law for 10 long years. All while my father-in-law (still) suffers from obesity, type 2 diabetes, and all the pain and suffering that comes from those conditions. It’s been devastating for my husband to witness.
Two Different Outcomes
The way things went for my friend compared to my in-laws was incredible. One person committed to herself and her children. The others didn’t.
My friend was able to combat the disease, she went into remission and is as healthy as ever. My in-laws on the other hand didn’t live such a positive story. I believe most of their pain and suffering came from one common thing – lack of commitment. Lack of commitment to finding out how they could each take responsibility for their poor health and make changes – instead of just relying on doctors and medications (that never seemed to satisfy them.)
Commitment can do amazing things. When you are willing to do whatever it takes, you CAN turn things around.
Because of what I saw, I committed to learning everything I could about healthy eating and how I could protect myself, my husband, and my 2 daughters from the chronic disease that plague most people we know.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my friend beat cancer after she committed to do everything she could for herself and protect her children in the process.
Commitment Doesn’t Require Perfection
The thing about the commitment that many people miss is that it doesn’t mean you’re perfect. It means you choose yourself each and every day and when you fall you recommit and choose yourself again. The more often you recommit, the easier it gets. It becomes who you are not what you do.
There is also an additional benefit to committing and recommitting to your own health. It’s the powerful effect that transfers to your children. There is no doubt my children will live happier, healthier lives because of the commitment and recommitment we have modeled in our household.
Remember above I mentioned moving mountains!? When you commit to your health not only for yourself but for someone else who looks up to you…those mountains begin to move!
What can you commit to today for you or the betterment of your child’s health?
To learn more about taking control of your health so you can turn around and prevent future suffering, contact me at www.the diabetes turnaround.com. You can also learn more about me by clicking here.
Debbie Movsesian is a physician assistant and a health coach. She graduated from the University of Michigan and attended PA school at George Washington University. She has many years of experience treating cardiac patients. Her passion is health promotion and disease prevention and treating the root cause of disease. This passion led her to start coaching as she believes it is the education plus close support and accountability that truly inspires long-lasting health.