Every day, in every moment we have incredible power in the choices that we make.

Most, if not all, of the choices we make have an effect on our health and well-being. And every day and every choice is a chance to improve our health and feel better physically or emotionally, or …  to go the other direction. Unfortunately, health is one of those things — it’s either getting better or maintaining through active effort, or it is moving, sometimes gradually, sometimes quickly, toward decreased well-being, increased symptoms and the loss of ability.

One decision at a time, healthy is within reach. 

This point of view can be incredibly empowering. Every day there are new chances to make choices that improve ourselves and will help us live the lives we want and do the things that we love. It is within our power to choose and thus be our own health hero and contribute to our sustained health and happiness. 

So choose to be powerful and active in this pursuit of healthy and happy. Do something. Anything. Today. It doesn’t have to be huge. It doesn’t have to be a major commitment to completely remodel your life. Just take into account what we know works for health in some of your decisions today.

Make an action plan for today to make one decision that you want to make that will positively affect you and your health. See how it feels to carry it out. (Hint: it feels good! When you do it, you feel successful, and then you build up some momentum, and before you know it, you do feel that power and you feel better!) 

In case you’re drawing a blank, here are a few ideas of choices you can make today: 

• Get outside and walk — starting slowly or gradually is still starting!

• Park a little further away from entrances so you take a few more steps.

• Replace a soda (or all of them!) with sparkling water or regular water.

• Keep a gratitude journal — write down 10 things you’re grateful for every day.

• Make a meal at home from scratch.

• Pack a fruit or vegetable snack so you don’t hit the vending machine mid-afternoon.

• Play actively with your kids for good activity and to reduce their screen time.

• Make good choices in the grocery store, so you don’t have junk food at home, lurking for when you’re feeling ravenous and weak-willed.

The choices are yours! Be your own health hero. Join the Healthy Evanston Movement (keep an eye on facebook.com/healthyevanston) for more ideas and for support and to find other health heroes who are working toward healthy a decision at a time and who’ll support you in yours.

Granted, this idea of the power of decisions can be a little discouraging, for some, though, too, because sometimes we don’t want that power. Sometimes we don’t want to think that we have choices, or that choosing to sit all night and binge-watch a show, for instance, or eat that bag of chips, is a choice at all. Or at least we don’t want to think that these choices matter that much.  

But here is the bottom line: daily choices and little actions add up and become lifestyle. And lifestyle, or how we live day in and day out, does affect our health and our quality of life. 

And what is healthy, anyway? It might seem sometimes that working toward healthy is an obligation; one more thing you’ve got to try to squeeze into life and stress about or feel guilty about. That’s not what it is really about. Healthy just means maintaining the life you want to live and keeping on doing the things you love for a long time; it’s an attitude of ongoing self-management. Healthy means feeling good mind, body and soul. Healthy is vibrant, happy and hopeful.