Live Younger Longer

Change your environment
Another strategy, talked about frequently by BJ Fogg from Stanford
University, is to redesign the world around you to encourage better habits.
Recently, my wife and I bought this nice new refrigerator, very modern and
convenient with plenty of storage and good lighting. The only problem was
that the drawers for fruits and vegetables were entirely opaque. All of the
healthy food we bought remained hidden and frequently forgotten. After
figuring this out, we decided to put our eggs, bacon, cheese, sausage and
similar foods in the opaque drawers and put the fruit and vegetables on the
shelves at eye level. It really did help encourage better eating habits for us.
For persistently strong habits, try combining habit replacement with a
change in your environment. If you want to stop smoking on your drive to
work, replace the cigarettes with a pack of flavorful chewing gum and drive
a different route to work.
Pace yourself
So choose your habits carefully. Break down the process into small,
manageable steps. Alter an existing habit, gradually remove temptation and
make small adjustments to your environment. Be patient with yourself as
you tweak your routines little by little. Once you start to look at habits in
these ways, you’ll see the wisdom in the saying, “First we make our habits,
then our habits make us.”

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Rely on your strengths
Many of us can be successful in one area of life but not so
successful in another. One of my patients who is also a good
friend, Andy Fickman, is a very confident and successful
movie director whose works include “
She’s the Man
,” “
Race
to Witch Mountain”
and many other popular films. He’s
agreed to share his story here.
Andy Fickman on set.
Andy and I have talked about the difficulties of shooting a
movie and all the daily setbacks that occur. We discussed
how he handles all the different challenges he deals with
every day — personalities, schedules, budgets, weather,
rewrites and much more. He told me he’s developed a
routine approach that no matter what happens today, he

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adapts and gets it done tomorrow. I asked him if he learned
this approach on the first day he was shooting his first
movie. His reply was, “Oh gosh, no, Doctor – it took me
years to learn this!”
However, when he tried to change to a healthier diet and
incorporate regular physical activity into his day, he wasn’t
successful. He’d often get discouraged and just try the same
approach the next day, only to fail again. He didn’t realize
he was leaving the problem-solving skills he’d acquired in
moviemaking completely untapped.
Once he realized that he could take what he learned from
directing movies and apply it to things like diet and exercise,
his world changed. He started applying his approach of
adapting and overcoming to the challenges of healthy
eating and exercising while on set. He gradually built his
small daily successes into a long-term goal accomplishment.
Reflecting on what worked for him, he told me, “I have
certainly tried diets and fads over the years, but none
connected with me.” He said that he had a little success
with one particular program but found that it had everything
to do with the fantastic woman running the program. When
he moved and tried the same program at another location,
his interest faded and he had a hard time with the system.
“Now that I’m doing it my way, I am trying to learn
something new each day healthwise,” he says. “Being
responsible for my own shopping while away from home is
helping to educate me — and helping me find items I really

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enjoy. I ask my wife a lot of questions every day about
different foods and beverages, and she talks me through
them. In the 40 days since I started making changes, I
haven’t had a day I felt hungry or deprived.” In fact, it’s the
opposite, he says. He felt very motivated.
In addition, he established accountability by sharing his
weekly weight loss with those close to him. It was a good
mental step for him and a way to celebrate his success.
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GOOD HEALTH EASES STRESS, SAVES MONEY
AND HELPS THE PLANET.
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