What are Daily Deeds?

Through conversations with thousands of our members, we at InDeed Wellness have learned much about ways people are successful in making changes to their lifestyles that impact how they feel and how their body functions. Over the years we have used the collective wisdom of our members along with our own training and expertise to develop what we call Daily Deeds. Daily Deeds are simply actions that can be taken on a daily basis which, over time, can have positive affects on someone’s health and well being. In general, each Daily Deed is represented by a simple yes or no question- Did you do this today? By answering “Yes!” to this simple question you have the opportunity to affirm that you are acting in a way that supports your health. If you answer “no” you also have the opportunity to investigate why you weren’t able to follow through and prepare for answering “Yes!” the very next day.

Below you will see a list of Daily Deeds that you may want to consider incorporating into your daily life. While we have developed this set of Daily Deeds to support your goal of optimal health, we also understand that consistent follow through will be the most important factor in making changes that are effective and lasting. With that said, we would also like to share what we have learned about developing an implementation plan for your Daily Deeds.

Quite often our motivation to make changes to our lifestyles starts from a realization that we don’t feel as healthy as we once did. For many, this realization can arrive after completing one of our Awareness Health Screenings and seeing that a biometric result has moved into a range that has increased risk for disease. For others that realization can come just by becoming aware of how their body feels in response to walking a distance or climbing a flight of stairs. Regardless of what is motivating you to consider a change, we hope to provide some support and guidance on your path to success. Here are a few key concepts we have found very important in creating improved health and well being.

1. Move Forward First- Even though you may be aware that something you are currently doing doesn’t support your optimal health, choosing to remove something you are already doing can be quite difficult to follow through on. Instead, try adding a Daily Deed that challenges you to do something you believe to be more healthy. For example, if you currently drinking more soda than you feel is healthy for you, try focusing on increasing your water intake first by choosing our 8-8-8 Daily Deed. Taking this approach will address two big barriers to making effective change.

   First, you will be able to receive feedback and focus on what you are doing to move toward your goal rather than away from the unhealthy behavior. In this way, every time you complete your Daily Deed, you will be making progress toward the direction you want to go.

   Second, you will spend less time thinking about the unhealthy behavior. Our actions follow our intentions and our intentions follow our attention. The more you focus on what you don’t want to do, the more attention you give and the harder it seems to stop the behavior.

2. Make Consistency Your First Goal- If you have considered a goal to gauge the effectiveness of your effort to make changes you have probably also already charted your path with timelines and milestones. Take a minute to understand how you are thinking about the change you intend and why it feels important to you to follow your timeline in meeting the goal. It is very helpful to understand not only the path, but also how you want to travel it.

   Once you’ve considered your goals, make a new one that is the top priority before all others- consistent follow through on the steps that lead you forward on your path. Many of us have made the best plans only to realize that we didn’t plan to follow them. When you make consistency your first goal, you’ll generate a feeling of accomplishment from following through instead of hoping for that feeling when the goal is achieved.

3. Develop mastery before moving on- With consistency as your first goal, you now have a way to gauge your progress every day you follow through with a Daily Deed. When gauging your progress, it will be helpful to remember that perfection is not required for progress, but consistency is. That being said, see if you can follow through on your Daily Deed at least 10 out of 14 consecutive days. Once you’ve achieved this level of progress and you feel confident that you can continue being consistent, it may be time to add a second Daily Deed to your plan. However, if you are struggling to reach that level of consistency, you may need to reassess the Daily Deed you’ve selected and determine if a different Daily Deed may be more appropriate to focus on and allow you to be more consistent.