In Element 01 of Your LifeBook, Being Clear Why You Are Here, we explored WHY to make a change. The next step is to identify what you want, develop a strategy, and explore your readiness. First, you will need to define exactly what you need to accomplish and outline the goals that will allow you to create the new life you want to live.

In Your LifeBook, you will find a willingness, confidence, and readiness ruler for each MacroHabit of health. Looking inward and measuring where you fall on each of these scales will help you to identify where you are on your journey and how prepared you are to take yourself to the next level.

Asking yourself the following questions will help you get to know yourself and what you want to accomplish on your journey to optimal health and wellbeing:

• What do I want to change? Identify three areas that are the most important for you to change right now. Start broad by selecting a MacroHabit of health, then narrow down the change you'd like to make.
• What does this Element mean? Once you select the areas you would like to make changes, figure out what this means for your daily lifestyle. For example, maybe it means you are cutting out sugary beverages and replacing them with water, or you are committing to creating positive thoughts. If you need help figuring out what a particular Element means, ask me, your independent OPTAVIA Coach. I am here to help you every step of the way!
• What does this Element allow me to reflect on? Reflecting on the change you are committing to making is just as important as actually doing it. Identifying what you want to accomplish and how this will truly benefit you is essential to keeping a healthy mind and will motivate you to see your change through.
• What actions will I take? After choosing your Elements of improvement, define your action steps by partnering with me, your independent OPTAVIA^® Coach. Together, we will develop a strategy and set of action steps to help you not only see your desired results, but also maximize them.

Once you identify the areas you want to change, you will have the building blocks for motivation and a grasp of what is important to you. So, start marking up Your LifeBook today!

Ask me, your independent OPTAVIA Coach, for additional tips on how you can identify what you want to accomplish on your journey to Lifelong Transformation, One Healthy Habit at a Time^®.

The first two articles in the Healthy Mindset series focused on the MacroHabits and tips to practice when building a calm environment and psychological safety into your life.

This week we expand upon the topic of mindfulness by focusing on the importance of forgiveness and showing kindness both internally and externally, as two key factors in developing a healthy mindset.

Utilize the following practices to help grow your self-esteem, learn to forgive and love yourself, but also pay it forward by demonstrating kindness to yourself and others.

• Write a love letter. But write it to yourself! Writing is a simple yet effective way of putting your thoughts and articulating your feelings on paper. If you struggle to get started, imagine writing to your younger self. We also recommend mailing it to yourself as a reinforcement or saving it to open in a few months.
• Surround yourself with supportive people. Just by being around others, our energy and spirits can lift and shift in ways that promote positivity and mindfulness. Reach out to family, friends, or others in the OPTAVIA Community as a way to practice kindness or pay it forward by sharing your key learnings with other new Clients.
• Keep a gratitude journal. Use a journal to jot down what you are grateful for while also reflecting on the positives in your life since you started the program. While these positive aspects of your life float around your mind, writing them down makes them permanent and real. Try establishing a designated time and location to journal in order to help install the habit. 
• Use every mistake as a learning experience. We ALL make mistakes so consider each mistake going forward as a learning experience that holds the key to ensuring you don’t make the same mistake twice in the future. Take it easy on yourself. Remind yourself that you did what you could with the tools and knowledge you had at the time, and now it’s time to move on based on your learnings.

Practicing self-love on a consistent basis will lead to a happier and healthier you, and, of course, a positive mindset.

Take the month of February to practice everything shared in the last three articles of our mindfulness series. 

As always, reach out to me, your independent OPTAVIA Coach, for additional tips on how to put the key learnings from this series into practice in the coming weeks. I’m here to support you!  

Finding a Community of Like-Minded People

Mallory is a mother to two beautiful girls and also a bonus mom to her boyfriend’s two wonderful children. Mallory found OPTAVIA several years ago through a friend as she was searching for a way to live a healthier life.

“When I started my journey, like most people, I was in it to lose weight, not fully believing that there was something extraordinary about this program."

Not only did Mallory lose weight* with OPTAVIA’s program, but she also felt a newfound energy based on the other healthy habits she learned and practiced every day.

“OPTAVIA Fuelings took away the normal stress of meal prepping and allowed me to have fun exploring and learning how to make healthy Lean & Green meals that were both delicious and simple!”

As time progressed and Mallory stuck to plan, she lost a total of 125 pounds^*.

She was so moved by her own transformation that she decided to become an independent OPTAVIA Coach to pay it forward and to share what she learned on her journey to optimal health and wellbeing.

“Around my one-year mark, I attended my first OPTAVIA Convention and was completely blown away by the people I met and the OPTAVIA Community that became part of me.”

Mallory credits her independent OPTAVIA Coach and the OPTAVIA Community that continues cheering her on and encouraging her to take the next, best steps in life to become the next best version of herself possible.

Thanks to OPTAVIA, Mallory is the stay-at-home mom she has always dreamed of being, and she is able to be fully present for her children^**.

“I am forever grateful for the one choice I made several years ago. Nothing is the same from that time, and I am even more excited to see how OPTAVIA and the Community will continue to play a huge role in my life and self-growth.”