Lifestyle changes as a theme – Part 3

boots and grass showing gardening tips from oakville physiotherapist

Welcome back to our Lifestyle Changes series. Today’s theme is… themes! šŸ˜Š

In Part 2, we talked how to get started on making healthier changes to our lifestyle, using a more goal-oriented approach.

But maybe if youā€™ve already tried SMART goals (or something similar) and it didnā€™t work for you. Or maybe you find the idea of having a specific goal and deadline daunting.

Perhaps you have a general idea for lifestyle changes which doesnā€™t fit too well into a ā€œspecificā€ goal.

Thatā€™s alright!

But how will I progress if I don’t have a goal?

The approach we take to lifestyle changes is not one-size-fits-all. Depending on the person, the goal, or even in which phase of change you find yourself in, sometimes it works better to have a specific target… but other times the change needs to be more broad.

This is where THEMES come in!

When we are looking at a more general topic such as ā€œlifestyle changesā€ to improve health and wellbeing, the roadmap may not be as clear. These kinds of changes can be as simple as wanting ā€œmore of somethingā€ or ā€œless of somethingā€ in your life.

Think of Life as a series of choices, or a branching path. Every choice can take you on a slightly different path, which then opens up other opportunities. Having a theme for the changes you wish to enact can help guide those choices!

Examples of Themes

Usually, a theme corresponds to a more long-term period of time, such as a year. Here are some examples:

  • Year of Health
  • Year of Nutrition
  • Year of Gratitude
  • Year of Mindfulness
  • Year of Reading
  • Year of Learning
  • Year of Saying Yes! (check out a book of the same idea and title by Shonda Rhimes, creator of the TV series Grey’s Anatomy!)

Choose a word (or theme) that resonates with what you need more of in your life. And as you go through the days and weeks, every time a choice comes along, you can ask yourself if it aligns with your theme.

In this way, you may even start to be aware of choices or paths that you would not have noticed otherwise!

This method also allows your idea of what the theme means to you to evolve over timeā€¦

So when you have a year of Health, choices like parking further away to walk to the store, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or getting the less calorie-dense smoothie, or picking up a less sugary snack, or going for a walk instead of watching another episodeā€¦ naturally come up without you having to plan or force them.

And as you continue making these types of choices, your ideas of what is healthy may gradually evolve to what works best for you!

A year is such a long time…

If you feel a year is too long-term, you can try seasons instead! Here are some examples šŸ˜Š

  • A Spring of Movement (focusing on being more active for instance)
  • A Summer of Nature (connecting more with Nature and spending time outside)
  • A Fall of Family (spending more quality time with your family, whatever that means to you)
yoga stretching poses from an oakville virtual physio
  • A Winter of Reading (getting to that ever-growing book list and replacing time spent scrolling on your phone with a good bookā€¦ whether it be a physical copy, audiobook, or Kindle version!)

In the meantime… we are here for you!

If you are being limited by pain or injury, let us help. From Physiotherapy and Massage Therapy to Chiropody, and even Yoga Therapy, we can support you along your health and wellness journey.

We are getting ready to re-open our physical doors, but we will also continue seeing patients virtually for Physiotherapy to accommodate for those who may be immunocompromised, still maintaining social distancing, or are located more remotely!