Last night I took a look at all the things that are pretty commonly thought of as requirements for being healthy.

What was different was that instead of evaluating how well I am doing in each category, which leaves plenty of room for self-judgment, I looked at how I am approaching each thing.

• Is it something I “won’t” or “can’t” do?
• Is it something I “have to” do?
• Is it a “need to” do?
• Or is it something I “choose to ” or “choose not to” do?

This may sound like semantics, but in truth, the positive anabolic energy in approaching everything as a choice is like putting a rocket launcher on your ability to achieve your goals.

When you make working-out something you “choose-to” do, you are empowered. Even when you choose not to exercise today, you cutout all the guilt and self-punishment, and are still empowered.

Telling yourself you “can’t or “won’t” exercise removes all choice and generates negative catabolic energy that bogs down your momentum like wheels getting stuck in mud.

Feeling like you “have to” workout is only a little better because your ability to choose is still limited.

Telling yourself you “need to” work out gives you more of a choice and starts to shift your momentum.

Choosing your actions gives you total control over your direction.

It was empowering just looking down this list with my fabulous mentor coach Jennifer Barley and seeing that in eight out of 12 categories, I am functioning at not only a “choose to” level, but a strong “want to!” Taking out judgment left me feeling confident about the ability I have for achieving my wellness-goals.

For instance, it doesn’t matter that I am choosing to decrease the intensity of my workouts for the time being because of tweaking the muscles in my back (something I have been judging myself for). What is important is that I am still choosing to work out five to six times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes doing what I can do. I’m still empowered and moving  towards my goal; more slowly perhaps, but still forward.

That left only four categories that I feel I “need” to be doing to be healthy. So instead of judging my overall wellness based on some room for improvement, I can separate out those few categories and work on shifting my thoughts around them from “Need to” to “Choose to.” That feels much more doable and like something, well, I “want” to do!

What is your goal? Make a list of all the things that you believe you have to do to achieve it. Then rank how you are approaching those things. Are you closer to “have to” or “choose to?” What can you do to move any low-energy areas to things that you “want” to do? How different does that feel?

Together we can do it!

Photo by renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net