Choose Health Every Day
By Mario A. Mancini, O.M.D.

Every thought you have and every action you take is a choice. Your brain works in a pattern of questions and answers. Start asking yourself better questions and you will get better answers. Start by exchanging fear for courage… look for challenges and opportunities for growth. Then replace guilt with gratitude… look for the good and appreciate what you have RIGHT NOW. Finally, replace self-loathing with self-reliance… realize that YOU are the only one stopping you and that is power not weakness. Most importantly, start small. I recommend that you throw out the adage of taking it day and day and instead take it choice by choice. A whole 24 hours is a lot of time to measure and can carry a lot of emotional weight. Instead, reflect on the successes within those 24 hours; the choices that made you proud. Relive them in your mind before you go to bed and make a plan to recreate them the next day.

I am confident that every choice you make is a good one because it comes from a good person. You are good. Let me repeat that… YOU ARE GOOD. You chose and continue to choose better health and a better life. I KNOW that you want more for yourself. If you didn’t, you would not be my patient.

Practice makes perfect. So, consider each day practice for the next and you will continue to grow. Practice acting, speaking and thinking… start with thinking. Your thoughts turn into words. Your words turn into actions. Your actions turn into habits. You habits create your routines. You routines comprise your daily reality. Remember to think about underlying cause. Go to the source and don’t focus on the symptoms. In other words, start by monitoring your thoughts and changing your actions will be easier.

Awareness is always the first step toward real change. Reflect back on how you decided to start care at my wellness center… you had to come to an awareness that you wanted and needed to change. With that said, don’t be afraid to ask for help when and where you need it in other areas of your life. Find other people in your life that you can rely on to support you and be examples for you moving forward.

Top athletes learn quickly that they only have control over themselves. They do not control the situation or their opponents. Football players and martial arts masters both get hit hard on a regular basis. The difference between the way they take a punch and the way you take a “punch” in your life is that they made a choice to stand in front of that opponent and they prepared by practicing getting right back up when they get knocked down. You can do the same – you can use every day as training. Failure does not exist – erase it from your awareness. There is only opportunity to learn and be better the next time.

Be careful to keep your perspective in check. Do not get so caught up in where you are going that you forget to be aware of where you are now and where you have been. Gratitude is a powerful tool. Use it to track your progress. Each day take a personal inventory of who you are becoming instead of focusing on how close you are to your goals. It is good to appreciate and admire yourself, but when that seems impossible remember that I appreciate and admire you for being your best self each and every day.

Thank you for your continuing confidence in me as your doctor and as your friend. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

 

"Others can stop you temporarily. You are the only one who can do it permanently."
- Zig Ziglar

Researchers at the University of Rochester have shown that the human brain—once thought to be a seriously flawed decision maker—is actually hard-wired to allow us to make the best decisions possible with the information we are given. (ScienceDaily 2008)