When making changes to live a healthier lifestyle, often people face a dilemma. Is what they are gaining worth more than what they have to give up? Change will only happen when the price of staying the same is greater than the price of change, meaning that you do realize that what you are gaining is greater than what you are giving up.
A few years ago I heard something that really resonated with me. I was at an adoption orientation and the caseworker that was working with us said, “With adoption, you have to make your new normal. Normal for many is getting pregnant and having a baby. For some, that isn’t their normal. So you have to make your new normal and adoption can be that new normal.” That struck me, and I realized that I needed to give up that longing to have a baby and replace it with a new normal. And I am so glad I did. In January of 2010 we brought home a beautiful baby boy placed with us by loving birth parents. If I had never made adoption my new normal, I wouldn’t have my Ben.
When you choose to live a healthier lifestyle, there will be things you need to give up…at least most of the time. But what you gain by doing so is far better than what you are giving up. Start by establishing what you want your new normal to be and then make realistic goals in order to achieve that. I promise that you won’t look back.
Emily Fonnesbeck RD,CD
