Ever wonder why some people can successfully make health changes while others try and. . .uh. . .fail to succeed? One of the key factors is what I call Health Confidence. Health confidence is your belief in your own ability to make a health change (such as quitting smoking, losing weight, reducing stress, shaping up, or getting a chronic disease under control). It's the difference between "I'm going to make this change and nothing's going to stop me!" versus "I don't know if I can do it, but I'll try."
A couple of important things to understand about health confidence:
- Health confidence is behavior-specific. That is, you
can be super confident in your ability to, say, exercise
five days a week, but have zero confidence that you can
eat healthier. - Health confidence can be cultivated. You're not stuck
with what you've got.
It's this latter point that is really critical. As you try to transform your own health, you need to know that your confidence can be boosted. Don't be resigned to low confidence. Here are the three key strategies to give your health confidence a lift:
- Identify role models. Seek out people that have already
made the change you're trying to make. They will inspire
you. - Get cheerleaders. As much as possible, surround yourself
with people who will give you unconditional support, who
will celebrate your milestones, and who will help you up if
you fall down. This is where a good coach can really help,
but if you look around you'll also find friends, family,
co-workers and support groups who will eagerly serve in
this role. - Practice. Tried to make this change before? Don't view
previous attempts as a string of failures--they're not! View
them as valuable steps towards success, with each step
affording you lessons about potential pitfalls, and bringing
you closer to your ultimate goal. Also, think about other
positive changes you've made in your life; and be your own
role model!
I didn't invent the idea of Health Confidence. It's based on theories of "self-efficacy" developed and researched by noted Stanford psychologist Albert Banduras. And there's a wide body of evidence proving that these strategies work.
Three strategies that are easy and that work. What more could you ask for? Why not put them into play, today, and power-up your health confidence?
-------------MIND YOUR CHANGE--------------
Write a list of 10 successful health
changes, big or small, you've made in
your life. Can't think of 10? What about
switching to lower-fat milk, eating less
meat, or drinking more water? (Just some
ideas). What factors in your life
facilitated those successes?
-------------MIND YOUR CHANGE--------------
