Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1079232
February/March 2019 15 healthy living not feel realistic for you right now. But imagine if you rewrote your story called "I'm afraid I'll never lose the weight," replacing it with a new one called, "I'm concerned about losing the weight and looking at my options even as I love and accept myself. I am enthusiastic about improving my health however I can." How does it feel to contemplate this new health story? Let's say you have a health story called "I'm afraid I'm going to develop diabetes, like everyone else in my family seems to do in midlife." What if you changed that story to, "I'm concerned about developing diabetes and open to the many ways I might discover to prevent this disease"? Possibilities abound when you are willing to be honest about your current health story and whether it is working for you. My own health story these days is "I am loosening up the constrictions that served their purpose in some ways but that are now holding me back from what I want to experience." I dance, moving my body freely as I listen to music I enjoy. I laugh. I stay present in the moment as I walk in nature, feeling my connection to the vastness of the earth's beautiful, creative powers that generate new life continually. I see possibilities around me, and ask myself a question you might want to consider asking yourself, too: "What could my new health story be if I were to let go of something that no longer works for me, regardless of the comfort I take in its familiarity?" Be willing to let go of the health story that restricts you from experiencing what you desire and let yourself begin to imagine what might take its place. If fear arises, explore why you are afraid of letting go of the old and bringing in the new. When the fear of possibility constricts you, free yourself to believe something better is possible — a more satisfying story of your health and your life. Carl Greer, Ph.D., Psy.D., is a practicing clinical psychologist, Jungian analyst, and shamanic practitioner and the author of the multiple award-winning books Change Your Story, Change Your Life and Change the Story of Your Health. He teaches at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. Visit www. CarlGreer.com.