Change completely, make a 180 turn to try to achieve happiness, live healthy and strive for a quality of life, this is the challenge proposed to us by the author Jean-Michel Cohen. By looking at life differently and changing our lifestyle, bliss may well become accessible.

Having good intentions to consider better lifestyle habits is relatively simple, but putting them into practice is a challenge.

"When you want to change things, there are more difficulties than you think," writes the author, Jean-Michel Cohen.

It is that our lifestyle habits are inscribed in a part of our brain and stored in memory, and come back instinctively. This explains why it is so difficult to get rid of bad habits, such as addiction to alcohol, cigarettes or eating foods that are not suitable for us, because they provide a certain pleasure and it is easy to use it. The same is true when it comes to getting out of your comfort zone by undertaking a professional process to change jobs, go back to school or start a business. To achieve this, the motivation must be very high, otherwise our brain plays tricks on us, practically forcing us to return to our old habits, propelling us back to square one.

Step by step

Thus, to achieve this, the author suggests taking it easy and not trying to change everything overnight, because sheer willpower is usually not enough. This is why most crash diets don't work in the long run. The individual will certainly want to return, at one time or another, to their old habits. On the other hand, if the old habit leads to any reward, the chances of success are multiplied. So, if you change jobs for example for a better salary, or a better quality of life, there is a good chance that it will work.

Moreover, the author reveals that according to some studies, 90% of the resolutions taken at the beginning of the year fail because they are most of the time drastic. To succeed, we must be able to analyze our situation and opt, at first, for objectives that are easy to achieve and then to achieve greater changes. The idea of ​​changing everything in your life is therefore possible provided you do it in stages and plan your goals according to your own abilities.

The psyche

The author offers several solutions to improve his psyche, since everything starts from there. Those who are used to consuming anxiolytics, which are more and more prescribed, should, according to him, consider them as a short-term solution since they do not work in the long term. They only serve to reduce the symptoms allowing you to detach yourself from various forms of anxiety. Unfortunately, in the process, they extinguish your motivations to take action. Meditation and sports can be alternatives. Again, you just have to integrate them little by little into your lifestyle.

Stimulating your psyche brings great solutions. Having a positive attitude, choosing healthy activities that bring pleasure are assets to moving towards well-being and living happily.

► Jean-Michel Cohen is a nutritionist in France and has been practicing for forty years.

► He is the author of about fifteen books.