We know the right thing to do. We know the healthy choice. We know eating a salad, rather than the chocolate cake is better for you. We know that getting up to exercise is better than sitting there playing video games.  And yet we do not do it.

There are many reasons why we don’t. It is hard to make change is the biggest. We have habits, deeply ingrained habits of behaviors that we have done repeatedly, day after day, year after year. It is like we have deep wagon wheel grooves in our brains. It is very difficult to break out of those grooves. Note, I do not say impossible, but very difficult. So, we do not like to change. Humans generally do not and we have these deep grooves. We also frankly often like our patterns and do not think that we will like the new patterns. Three strikes: we do not want to change, deeply ingrained habits and we like our present behavior!

The questions is not why we do not change, but how is that we ever get ourselves to change at all! Well, there is one really good answer to that: we hurt so much, we have no choice. I exercise a lot. I started in my 40’s. I started because two first degree relatives died at very young ages. I want to be able to dance at my grandchildren’s weddings. The idea that I would die young was too painful, so I started to exercise.

So here is my challenge to you: do you hurt enough to change? How low do you need to go, before you do? Do you really need to completely hit bottom? Some people do. Keep checking in with yourself and see if you are ready. And never give up on yourself!! You can do it!!