Lifestyle Changes
“I get it”, “I know that”, “I read an article about that” or a popular favorite, “Dr. Oz said that on his show”. All these are comments we hear when someone talks about making a lifestyle change. The morning and evening news, social media, tweets, weekly and monthly magazines, You Tube, you name it, it’s all been written, it’s been said and repeated. When it comes to making a lifestyle change, eating healthy, getting fit, we’ve heard it all. Over and over. The message is not new. And everyone “gets it”. Or do they?
If the proof is in the pudding (forgive the unhealthy pun) then I beg to differ. The majority of people, who claim to “get it”, don’t!
Statistics related to obesity and diseases linked to lifestyle choices tell us that the majority of people don’t “get it”.
So how do we change that? My philosophy is one I used during my foreign language teaching career. I believe that “Immersion” is the best way to “get it.”
When I taught French, I had many good students who were able to study the material, memorize it and understand it. They “got it”. But if they were asked to engage in a conversation with a French speaker, sometimes these very same students were unable to function. They knew the vocabulary and the grammar rules but when it came time to use them in conversation they couldn’t. How did I get them past that?
French Immersion
Living the language and interacting in the language – in the classroom to start – was the only way to achieve a comfort level that ensured the student truly “got it”. A “Voilà!” moment so to speak. Students asking to use the restroom had to do so “en francais”. We often took some of the more advanced students on “French Immersion” trips to Canada and France. The next logical step in truly immersing the students was to travel where the language is spoken and sink or swim. It forced students to make practical use of the things they had learned in the classroom.
My philosophy of lifestyle change is much the same. Get immersed in healthy eating and living.
Nike says “Just do it!” I say “Live it!”
Immersing in it, living it, doing it, over and over again, eventually will lead to the development of new habits. And new habits will become a lifestyle. And the rest will fall into place. Soon your world will look completely different. I’ve watched it happen throughout my teaching career with hundreds of students learning foreign language. I’m watching that same process work with clients that want to eat healthier, exercise, and lose weight.
As American author and entrepreneur Seth Godin remarks: “Immersed. It can change you.”