Be A Before Person
By Dr. Scott Sebastian

If you are a procrastinator, now may be the time to consider the health price you might end up  paying for this habit. Procrastination may be the worst enemy of optimal health. We think about exercising and eating healthy foods. We make plans to form good habits and create a routine to ensure our health. However, postponing these changes is much easier than actually performing them.

When this attitude dominates our behavior, we have turned into an “after” person, dealing with health issues after they arise. When we postpone healthful behaviors we switch from being active  to reactive about our health. This reactive habit  will influence us to make health decisions based on pain or fear. Pain will actually make the decisions for us at times. However, pain is a signal that something is already wrong. Our health is already compromised, sometimes seriously.

At this point, fear may become the  reactive motivator that convinces us to change our health habits. Unfortunately, fear brings with it a certain level of anxiety that may damage the good health we are striving for. For example, we might react to fear  when we read newspaper ads and hear advertising on television describing various health problems. Often the fear instilled by these ads may lead us to ask for prescription medications we may not really need and possibly lead to more health problems.

Fear and pain are negative motivators, and they depend on negative reactions as motivation for good health habits. If we wait for fear or pain to motivate us, we may suffer pain and/or serious health problems. When you make a decision to act, rather than react in the area of health habits, you are improving your chances for a healthy life. This decision means you will be a “before” person, because you build healthy habits before problems begin, rather than treating problems after they arise.

Dr. Sebastian is a chiropractor that specializes in natural health care. He owns and operates Leucadia Chiropractic located at 280 N. Coast Hwy 101 in Encinitas. He can be contacted at 760-942-3321 or visit him online at http://www.leucadiachiro.com.