Introduction:
Throughout the years that I've been selling health food products, I've met many people on different types of dietary journeys. It's been difficult to discuss food issues with a number of them, and for a number of reasons. In this article, we will explore the challenges of discussing dietary health, confront hard truths about unhealthy eating, and delve into the personal motivation for positive dietary changes. Additionally, we will understand the psychological connection to poor dietary choices and embrace self-improvement and lifestyle changes that lead to a healthier and happier life.
The Challenges of Discussing Dietary Health with Others:
People are understandably uncomfortable when they're told discomforting things about dietary health. Many don't want to hear that alcohol is toxic for the body, but it's a fact that that's the case. We should be people who want to live in the light of truth, but sometimes when we live in accordance with the truth, we might have to struggle and suffer to a degree when we take steps such as quitting drinking.
Confronting Hard Truths about Unhealthy Eating:
I'm reminded that there was a time decades ago when some people actually believed that cigarette smoking was healthy. Then, when people began to point out that that assertion was totally false, many smokers felt great anxiety about having to change their lifestyles. But people need to be confronted with hard truth at times. They have to understand things such as there being a 99.9% chance that they will die if they jump out of an airplane without a parachute.
The Personal Motivation for Positive Dietary Changes:
I grew up watching my father and my sister struggle tremendously with food addictions. It impacted me, and it strengthened my own resolve to maintain my physical health through diet and exercise. When some people are made aware that they need to either change their lifestyles or face severe consequences, they'll make such positive changes. But, sadly, others won't.
Understanding the Psychological Connection to Poor Dietary Choices:
Proper motivation for making positive dietary changes is important. And understanding the connection between psychology and poor dietary choices is vitally important as well. To change poor dietary behavior, as well as poor behavior of other types, we have to remove the barriers to the deepest parts of our psyches. Sometimes things that drive our addictive behaviors, particularly dietary ones, are blatantly obvious—things such as clever marketing and detrimental food additives such as highly processed sugar. But it's often the case that we don't make the connection between how unhealthy dietary practices by our parents and others influenced us or how we eat unskillfully to mask our own emotional pain.
Embracing Self-Improvement and Lifestyle Changes:
We can begin improving our diets by facing up to the fact that we are addicted to unhealthy foods. Many of us are addicted to sweet foods. Some of us are addicted to very spicy foods. Others crave salty foods, heavy sauces, and heavy meats. But such cravings are not natural to human physiology. We're not designed to be addicted to many of the foods that we contrived in commercial kitchens and laboratories.
Overcoming Roadblocks to Happiness and Productive Living:
Unhealthy eating patterns are often linked to alterations that have been made to the foods that unhealthy people eat. But consumption of unhealthy foods and adoption of unhealthy eating patterns are also often inextricably linked to family-related psychological issues. Some people grew up facing economic and other hardships, and food was one of their only real pleasures. Others were in situations in which mealtimes were the only times during which they connected with their families. Many people have great memories about times of love and warmth when sumptuous meals were served at holidays. And such intricate relationships with food need to be taken into consideration by those who have to engage in sacrifice or temporary hardship in order to improve their dietary practices.
The Power of Writing and Self-Reflection:
Having said that, pursuing a course of action that entails a certain degree of pain for yourself or someone else doesn't necessarily mean that that course of action is not compassionate. For example, you may need to break up with someone that you're in an unhealthy relationship with. Or you may need to avoid being around certain people for a time because being with them triggers your unhealthy eating patterns.
A major goal of self-improvement is becoming willing to let go of personality traits that block us from happiness. But we may not know what's blocking us from the happiness we seek. If that's the case, we must think about, talk about, and write about the situation. Writing is a very powerful tool: When you write something, you’re taking a positive step toward self-improvement, engaging in a quantifiable action that you can take to improve yourself or your circumstances. Writing helps you recover your emotions and let them move through you. You take vague memories and abstractions that are in your head and put them onto a piece of paper (or onto a laptop screen). This quickly crystalizes things and will help you uncover character defects and determine how to rid yourself of them.
Embracing Lifestyle Changes for a Healthier and Happier Life:
This article began with a discussion about unhealthy eating and food addiction and "meandered" into a discussion about overcoming psychological problems through lifestyle changes geared toward better mental health. The beauty of making such lifestyle changes is that doing so will not only help you overcome poor dietary practices but will help you overcome many other types of roadblocks to happiness and productive living as well.
Live in the Present Moment:
I’ll end with one specific and vitally important lifestyle tip: Live in the present moment. Make changes that you need to make to improve your health. But don't get bogged down with regret about the past or anxieties about the future. Present moments, even difficult ones, are a gift that you should be grateful for. Your greatest deterrent to living in the present will be distraction. But the more that you engage in practices that enhance your mental and physical health (e.g., focused meditation), the less distracted you will become and the closer you will get to a joyful, compassionate, and purposeful life.
Conclusion:
Embracing lifestyle changes for a healthier and happier life is a journey that requires self-awareness, compassion, and dedication. We must confront hard truths about our unhealthy eating habits, understand the psychological connections to poor dietary choices, and be motivated by a genuine desire to improve our overall well-being. By engaging in self-improvement and lifestyle changes, we not only enhance our physical health but also unlock the path to overcoming other obstacles and achieving a more fulfilling life. Live in the present, embrace positive changes, and savor the gift of a healthier and happier existence.
