Samantha McDonald

I can tell you one thing – people who are fit and healthy are continually working at it.

Healthy attitudes

I think health is something that a lot of people overlook, especially busy business people. They don’t place much importance on it because either (a) it’s in the too-hard basket, (b) they’re already fairly healthy and don’t really think about maintaining for the future, or (c) they know they should be doing something about it but there’s so much else to do!

But I can tell you one thing: people who are fit and healthy generally think about this area a lot. They are constantly looking at ways to improve, maintain or focus on their health, and they make it a high priority in their life.

Let’s face it. This isn’t just about weight management, eliminating bad habits, or looking great. This is about having loads of self-confidence, knowing when and how to relax, developing healthy fitness routines, and living longer. If you don’t have your health, you don’t have much else.

The problem with health issues (and indeed, most other issues too), is that people tend to focus on what they don’t want, rather than what they do want. By this I mean that people tend to think of themselves as fat, lazy, ugly, unfit, unhealthy, or depressed (gosh, this sounds awful!) but, by labelling themselves in this way, they are attracting more of the same, and creating a vicious cycle that just doesn’t stop.

And then there’s the people who know they have to do something about their health situation, but say things like, ‘I want to lose weight’ (who wants to lose anything??), or ‘I want to give up smoking’ (again, who wants to give up anything??).

These people are sabotaging themselves before they even start. If they re-word their goals, they may have more chance of success. How about: ‘I want to be 10 kilograms lighter’, or ‘I want to breathe only fresh air’. Or, even better: ‘I am a totally gorgeous 65 kilograms’, or ‘I breathe only the freshest air’. Saying it as if it’s already happening could trick your mind into believing it!

Samantha McDonald started off her working life in the music industry in Adelaide before moving to Sydney to work in recruitment and training. At 28, she became a personal and business coach and started Dare Coaching & Seminars.

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