Change Your Environment to Inspire Your Lifestyle
/Is your environment helping or hurting the lifestyle you want?
Your environment impacts your identity.
Your identity impacts your actions.
Listen in to learn the shifts to make in your environment.
I am blessed that as a child my family helped me create an identity of an exerciser.
At camp one summer I was in my room exercising and other campers walked by and started to snicker. I just kept working out. It was my identity, no matter what anyone did.
In my 30’s I flew to Pennsylvania, dressed for a job interview. When an issue with the airplane forced passengers to stay by the gate for over an hour, I was walking around in circles -- in dress shoes. And got some strange looks.
Just this month before a meeting at church, Doug and I walked for an hour in the building. (It was too cold outside!) People started saying “You’re inspiring me” and started walking, too.
When something is your identity, you will fight for it, whether people laugh, look at you weird, or join you.
My environment always includes access to activity. … even keeping walking shoes in the car.
On the flip side, I had to shift away from a different identity - the dieter identity that I grew up with.
Now I keep the environment of an Intuitive Eater vs a Dieter
Creating your environment for a healthy identity is one reason I encourage you to go to farmers markets or grow a little fresh food. Even growing your favorite herb on your window sill if that’s what you can do.
You may not shop at organic/natural stores all of the time, but when you can, it shifts your identity to “I like healthy stuff”.
Which then makes it easier to take actions that are healthy.
You will fight for your identity. (By “fight” I mean you will do what’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, to stay lined up with your identity.)
My challenge to you this week is …
