By Tanya Jolliffe RDN, LD, CMHIMP
For many people today, the idea of using a map as a guide on a road trip seems very foreign. Cars are equipped with navigation systems and there are many phone apps to help us get where we want to go. For many of us, we don’t even plan or consider available options before we go. We jump in the car, punch in the address, and follow the voice until we arrive at our selected destination. Until we don’t. Ever end up in an alley or at a one-way street because you blindly followed “the voice?” I have. Then the re-calibration begins to find another way and a new estimated time of arrival is determined.
I remember when I was learning to drive. My father would provide me with landmarks to watch for as he gave me verbal directions. There was a map in the car should I forget what he said. If we were going out of town, my parents would pull out an atlas and check the directions to be sure they knew the way. We took an atlas or map with us in case there was a detour. Planning was the key to success.
Jesus teaches about planning in Luke 14:28-30 NIV, “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?”
Sometimes we make the same mistake of not planning and using a map when we want to change something in our lives. It is hard to create a lasting lifestyle change if we haven’t determined what needs to be changed and how we are going to go about changing it. We need a plan that will accomplish the change we desire. We need a framework that helps us take small steps in the right direction. We need a process that puts meaning into everything we do: our employment, daily tasks, health routines, and relationships. However, we can’t create a plan, build a framework, or follow a process unless we have taken time to map out the destination.
Creating lasting transformation requires knowing what you want and need to live a happier and healthier physical, mental, and emotional life. Lifestyle wellness planning is a strategic process designed to help you examine ten dimensions of health and wellness, your wellness values, and your readiness for change so you can establish goals and determine YOUR best path toward living a life of health and wholeness. Our medical providers help us focus on our physical well-being, and if we work with counselors, they may help us with our mental and emotional well-being. Our social, financial, relational, and vocational well-being are equally as impactful to our health and happiness. When was the last time you gave any thought to those areas of your life?
I believe wholeheartedly what scripture teaches about God’s sovereignty in planning:
- “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
- “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9 NIV).
- “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21 NIV).
But I also believe what scripture teaches about the benefits of planning and counsel to help us find success:
- “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22 NIV).
- “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed” (Psalms 20:4 NIV).
- “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3 NIV).
If you have consulted with God and He has planted a desire within you to create a healthier lifestyle, let me help you create the plan, build the framework, and establish the process so that you will be successful. As we read in Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” If this is your time to make a lifestyle change for health and wholeness, consider consulting a map to lead you where you want to go.
Learn more at www.LITWellnessSolutions.com/lifestyle-wellness-coaching.
