Leading the Parade & Mind Etching

It's not easy to talk to already stressed-out parents about planning, especially if the planning is for themselves. In regards to family, parents tend to place themselves last. Women are especially prone to this bad habit & so this is the first area that needs to change. From now on forward, parents come to the front of the parade.....the leadership position! ...
Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

ON BECOMING SELF-LEADERS

Without good leadership, it's impossible to win. If you want your children to have healthy lifestyle behaviors, you must be willing to lead them in all aspects. One becomes a great leader by paying close attention to all details, including the minute ones. In the realm of high level nutrition & optimum performance, planning is vital. Nothing good & lasting can happen when there is disorder or when one lives with their head in the sand.

Some of the things I'm going to tell you are simple, but they need to be mind-etched in most of us, myself included. First, you do need to know what your body needs & you must have it available. If not, how can you provide it? If you are self-honest, you will certainly recognize this pattern, for I find it many times over with patients in my practice. It has nothing to do with one's intelligence or success at work. It is just a matter of fact. Most people do not take care of themselves properly & for some reason do not think that it matters very much. This is a huge mistake. The statistics in the early chapter prove this out.

MIND EXERCISE

Mentally visit your refrigerator and cupboards right now.
How prepared are you to provide what you need for today or until you plan to shop again?

Do you know what your body needs?

Are your meals going to enjoyable or just thrown together, as if YOU didn't matter?

How much stress is coming your way today? Have you taken this into consideration?

If your answers are "no" to these questions, go back to the earlier chapters & read carefully. This is the moment to underscore & to learn. Also visit your family & personal medical history & think about the diseases or addictions you are responsible for managing due to your genetics.

Once you fully understand & etch this into your mind, it will become second nature for you to take care of yourself at the highest levels. Your subconscious mind is now understanding that these things are important & that you want to go towards health. Once a goal is understood subconsciously, the mind will help to put a plan in place, as well as motivate you towards it.

BECOMING SELF-OBSERVING

Success is found in your quantity & quality of self-observation. Only then can you know what needs to change & can begin to work the changes in small, but important increments. It’s usually a matter of many small changes that are just like pennies. They add up!

MEET JENNIE

I'm always in a hurry, running from one activity to another, paying little attention to what I'm doing in the moment. This has become habitual & I've found that it can be very dangerous, especially when caring for my children or driving. But now I'm finding the danger in relation to my self-care. I've come to learn that if I don't pay attention now, I'm going to be in trouble down the path, as I'm already sensing problems with both my mind & body. Here are some things I haven't paid attention to in the past & that I'm in process of changing with the help of the program steps and tools.

My meals are scheduled events in my daily life.

My food choices are designed to manage my blood sugar levels.

My refrigerator and cupboards have everything I need to meet my needs and those of my family.

Absent from the above are all the binge foods that bring trouble, now & in the future, to myself & my family.

Jennie has moved from the back of the parade to the position of parade leader. The above statements are actually subconscious mind commitments that will lead to further commitments, therefore a higher level of health & performance. When a commitment is placed subconsciously, it takes on a life of it's own, rather like a plant with an underground root system. The roots become motivators that connect with other areas in life. We'll learn more about this inner-gardening a bit later in this work.