The Courage to Take Action

Do you need the courage to take action? Maybe you find yourself in a state of ambivalence about a behavior change. That’s when you can see the reasons to make the change as well as the reasons not to. Maybe you know you ought to change, but you somehow don’t feel like it or are afraid to. You’re on what I call the ambivalence fence.

Personally, I was stuck on this ambivalence fence for about five years. In 2007, I was told I had plaque forming on my carotid artery and was diagnosed with high cholesterol. I learned about the work of Dr. Dean Ornish, who proved that you could lower cholesterol without medications through a whole food, plant-based nutrition plan. So I knew what to do to fix the problem. But I didn’t find the courage to take action until 2012.

Those limiting beliefs

I had a limiting belief that if I stopped eating animal products, the quality of my life would deteriorate. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to go out to restaurants and enjoy food. My life would be uninteresting and pleasure-less. I had this perception that being successful meant eating expensive food and drinking expensive wine at high-end restaurants.  

These limiting beliefs kept me on the ambivalence fence for five years!

The tipping point

I had been praying for a better life. But I didn’t directly invite God into my health journey. I would pray for happiness, success on my job, and health in general. But I didn’t pray specifically for strength to do what I already knew I needed to do—for the courage to take action and adopt the change I knew would work: a whole food, plant-based nutrition plan.

Instead, I got to a point where the weight was creeping on, I was mentally foggy, physically tired all the time, and my cholesterol remained too high. In 2011, I experimented (a few times) with a popular cleanse. The transition protocol to come off the cleanse involved eating only vegetables and fruits for a few days. After a few cleanses, and more specifically that transition protocol, I personally experienced the power of plants.

My limiting beliefs started to break down, but were still present. Specifically, I remember the one that would come out of my mouth saying, “I can’t live without cheese!”

But God showed up first as a shift in my mindset. In January 2012, I decided to transition to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. I ate vegetarian twice a week, then increased it to three times a week and so forth. In June 2012, I declared myself a vegetarian.

God then showed up with a new inspiration…

Finally, the courage to take action!

It was a weekend in July 2012. I watched two documentaries back-to-back: Forks Over Knives and Earthlings. After watching and absorbing those two documentaries, I immediately hopped off the ambivalence fence and found the courage to take action.

I walked into the kitchen where my husband Kevin was sitting and declared, “I’m going vegan!” To my surprise and delight he said he’d do it with me.

The two documentaries and Kevin’s support were the new inspirations that God gave me to take action.

The results

I often tell people that the only regret I have is not making this change sooner. You see, the results are that I:

1. Lost weight
2. Reversed my high cholesterol without medications
3. Improved my mental sharpness and focus
4. Realized spiritual clarity and grew closer to God
5. Found my purpose
6. Changed my career
7. Became a competitive cyclist
8. Authored a few books
9. Co-founded Daniel Fast: A Bridge to Healthy Living
10. At 50 years old, post-menopausal, became my best self: the fittest and happiest I’ve ever been!

Bottom line? My limiting beliefs straight-up lied to me. When I stopped eating animal products and instead fueled my body with nutrient-dense whole plant foods, the quality of my life increased exponentially.

What are you waiting for?

Don’t make the mistake I made by wasting five precious years. The first step to getting off the ambivalence fence is to try the free A Prayer for Your Health 4-Day Challenge. The 4-Day Challenge is geared to invite God into your health journey and allow you to experience detoxing from those harmful foods that are making you sick.

After you do the 4-Day Challenge, you’ll realize you have it within you to take the next step: the 4-Week Course. Through this course you’ll get the full experience along with knowledge and support to walk that bridge to a long-term sustainable healthy lifestyle. It’s worth a try, because God has a plan for you, and He needs you healthy.

So what are you waiting for?