I was recently listening to a conference where various health and wellness professionals formed panels to speak on different issues. The topics included diet and nutrition, exercise, and prescription medication abuse to list a few. My schedule allowed me to tune in during the time of the prescription medication abuse discussion. I found myself uninterested; not because the information wasn’t relevant, but because it wasn’t relevant to me. It occurred to me that many of the statistics and studies cited in these health forums fall on deaf ears because those “listening” do not connect with the topic at hand. Herein lies the problem of “asking” people to change their unhealthy lifestyle to a healthy one. We have access to an abundant amount of information regarding just about every health issue imaginable and yet, we still suffer from inaction resulting in poor health. Have we become desensitized to certain health information?

For decades we’ve been told what to do to better our health; take this pill, you need to lose weight, eat a healthier diet. This only builds a wall of resistance, not lasting change because we don’t own the change … it isn’t ours. Instead, we choose the easiest, most comfortable, most delicious option in front of us.

As a personal trainer it is my responsibility to create an individualized a program based on a person’s wants, needs, and limitations. This specifically designed program allows for anybody to successfully navigate a workout and not be held back by an injured shoulder, back or knee. In other words, the exercise program is relevant to the customer. This is exactly the way a wellness program should be run; pertinent information, design, and execution of a specific program to each individual participating.

Had the information in the prescription medication abuse discussion been relevant to my life and connected to my core values (what’s most important to me) I would have changed on the spot. But, as it stands, the topic didn’t touch the deepest part of my being and therefore, I didn’t care. Can someone please show me how to design my own health and wellness program that fits my personal specs and reaches out to what’s most important to me? Take a look at my book SELF-CARE REFORM; it was designed to help you discover your own path to good health.