Here is great food for thought from one of our Atlanta Coordinating Body Members!
Be an Inspiration to All, Including Yourself!
How long have you been a diabetes educator? One year? 15 years? How do you stay motivated in order to inspire behavior change in your patients or staff? If you are reading this blog, then you are a role model to your patients and most likely to your family as well. Finding inspiration and joy in every day existence can be trying. Being human equates to life stress: family, relationships, health, job and even traffic (if you live in Atlanta!).
There is nothing like traveling to make you feel inspired and grateful for your life position. I just returned from a group trip to Israel where we toured a great deal of this very small state. Learning and listening to Israeli citizens made me feel so grateful for:
-Growing up in a loving family with a mother that cooked family meals
-Not having to fight for my independence
-Enjoying day to day freedom
-Endless opportunities in life careers
-Good Health
As a registered dietitian, I am always interested in food and culture. Israelis eat healthy. The markets are filled with seasonal produce (that was grown in the desert with drip irrigation), herbs, spices, olives, whole grains, beans and hummus, fresh breads, fruit and meat and seafood. And yes, lots of desserts--they like their sweets!
I did not see processed foods nor the amount of snacking that the American public engages in on a daily basis. Citizens shop often and purchase what they need for family meals.
I was inspired to bring a bit of Israeli food and culture back to my patients and my own family meals. We know that Mediterranean diets are one of the top meal plans recommended for overall good health. My question to you is: are you cooking and eating healthy as a role model to your patients and staff? Do you eat Mediterranean?
Find inspiration this summer from local farmers markets. Talk to Georgia farmers, they can share the best and most delicious way to prepare Swiss chard, Chanterelle mushrooms or tomatoes bursting with flavor. Georgia even produces fabulous olive oil. This is the best time of year to get inspired in the kitchen.
I thought you may enjoy the 7 Steps to Staying Motivated by forbes.com
Seven Steps to Staying Motivated.
- Set a goal and visualize it down to the most minute detail.
- Make a list of the reasons you want to accomplish the goal.
- Break the goal down into smaller pieces and set intermediary targets--and rewards.
- Have a strategy but be prepared to change course.
- Get the help you need.
- Pre determine how you will deal with flagging motivation.
- Continually check in with the reasons to carry on.
Don't these sound familiar? Don't we help our patients with goal setting? Maybe we need to start a little goal setting for ourselves this summer. Summer is a good time to reset your life goals. Days are long and schedules are more flexible. Find your joy and happiness in good healthy cuisine so that you can be an inspiration to others. Go Mediterranean! A great resource for recipes is:
www.oldwayspt.org
Here is food for thought from the Dalai Lama.
"Man (i.e. woman) sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
Cheryl Orlansky RDN CDE
GA CB Board member
Laureate Medical Group