The Journey Begins: Improving Health Behaviors

For the first chapter of this course the chapter discusses improving our health behaviors, which is one of the main things in my health journey. Setting up SMART goals are imperative to this process, those in which are Specific, Measurable, Action, Realistic and Time. 

I found reading up on shaping to be the best thing for me when jumpstarting my health journey, because it involves us making a series of small changes, opposed to making this one huge unmanageable one. Going head first into something new always seems tempting, I myself have fallen victim to this. We are always looking to long lasting, and quick results, but good things come to those who wait and are patient.

Speaking more general, the chapter touches base health equity, and what it means when a community or a society is able to achieve this. In doing so, one could be recognized for their ability to reverse and or prevent conditions that bring these communities down. Measures that can affect such conditions include economic stability, educational attainment, discrimination, health literacy and the overall diversity of the environment.

More or less, I’m sure we’ve all seen the positive and negative repercussions of the health equity in our communities. I, myself, have seen many negatives in the area I live in. There are fast food areas all over, health classes were never taught in both my middle and high schools, and gyms aren’t as easily accessible as they are in other communities. It wasn’t until in relatively recent years, they put a gym in our neighborhood, big thanks to the “all-favored” gentrification- but another conversation for another day.

This has been played huge role in my health journey, through life as a whole, but getting older, surrounding myself with more supportive individuals paired with my eagerness to be and know better than the environment I grew up in, has certainly helped. With that, I plan on pursing a healthier life, and I am truly excited to implement my SMART goals to keep me going in this process of health and growth!