The Three “P”s of lifestyle change
At this very moment, you are living your life according to the pathways you have created for yourself or have allowed others to influence and direct for you. This is true whether these choices were good for you or bad.
The decisions that we all make are a culmination of the feelings and emotions we remember from our past life experiences and our social environment, what we’ve learned along the way, and how it all has shaped our personal beliefs. And on top of that, our brains have tagged emotional connections to millions of our memories, and have tied them into our very rigid and structured primitive survival functions that unconsciously affects our behaviors and habits. Which is why it is so challenging to make comprehensive directional changes that depart from deeply ingrained habits, because you are swimming against the tide of very powerful neural pathways in your brain that run most of what we do each day on autopilot.
Having said that, once you’ve discovered and accepted that you need to make changes that will affect your life in a significant way, you will first need to have a vision and set goals that are backed by action, then provide yourself with periodic checkpoints to ensure that your lifestyle changes meet three criteria that will always keep you on your journey. We call these three criteria “The Three P’s”, and they are: 1. The change(s) will have a POSITIVE outcome, 2. That they will be PRODUCTIVE, and 3. And that they will be PERMANENT, so you will not waver or fall back into past poor habits.
Positivity:
By implementing positive lifestyle changes that include healthy habits into our daily routines, we can have a profound impact on our overall wellbeing. Moreover, prioritizing self-care activities, such as meditation or engaging in hobbies or social activities we enjoy, allows us to effectively manage stress and improve our mental and emotional state. By consciously removing unhealthy behaviors, we will also significantly reduce risks to good health and increase our healthspan. Overall, positive lifestyle changes empower us to take agency of ourselves and cultivate a more vibrant and fulfilling life.
Productivity:
When we set goals and actively work towards achieving them, we experience a sense of purpose and direction, and of accomplishment and fulfillment upon achieving our objectives, which boosts our self-confidence and self-esteem. Additionally, being productive often leads to increased efficiency and effectiveness, allowing us to achieve more in less time, reducing stress and anxiety which can result in a greater sense of autonomy and balance in our lives.
Permanence:
Positive and productive changes should not remain fleeting moments in their own, but rather become permanent building blocks that solidifies and sustains our complete selves. The lifestyle choices we make have the power to enliven us and transform our social relationships, like the ripples from a stone tossed into a calm morning lake that wake up the surface and expand in all directions. By embracing these changes as permanent fixtures, we unlock the potential for lasting health, personal growth, happiness, and fulfillment.