QuoteProject
Because the biological mechanisms that affect our health and well-being are so dynamic, when people change their diet and lifestyle, they usually feel so much better, so quickly; it reframes the reason for changing from fear of dying to joy of living. Also, the support that patients give each other is a powerful motivator.
Dean Ornish
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Changing diet and lifestyle can significantly improve well-being and shift motivation from fear to joy.

The quote emphasizes the transformative power of altering one's diet and lifestyle, highlighting that such changes can lead to rapid improvements in health and happiness. It suggests that as individuals experience these positive changes, their motivation shifts from a fear-based approach towards life – specifically the fear of death – to a more joyous perspective centered on the enjoyment of living. Additionally, the supportive relationships formed between patients can profoundly enhance motivation and foster a sense of community and encouragement.

Themes

HealthWell-BeingLifestyleDietJoySupportMotivation

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about health transformation.

More from Dean Ornish

When we understand the connection between how we live and how long we live, it's easier to make different choices. Instead of viewing the time we spend with friends and family as luxuries, we can see that these relationships are among the most powerful determinants of our well-being and survival.
Dean OrnishRead
Your body has a remarkable capacity to begin healing itself, and much more quickly than people had once realized, if you simply stop doing what's causing the problem.
Dean OrnishRead
Eating a vegetarian diet, walking (exercising) everyday, and meditating is considered radical. Allowing someone to slice your chest open and graft your leg veins in your heart is considered normal and conservative.
Dean OrnishRead
I've found that if I tell somebody 'Eat this and don't do that,' it's not only not helpful, it's counterproductive because even more than being healthy, we want to feel free and in control, and as soon as somebody tells us to do something, there's a tendency to do just the opposite.
Dean OrnishRead
If we can reach populations in developing countries and help them understand the value of their indigenous diet and lifestyles rather than copying ours, perhaps we can reverse the exponential rise in cardiovascular disease that is plaguing them.
Dean OrnishRead
Whether you're six or sixty, if you go on a diet and lifestyle program and feel constrained, you're likely to go off it sooner or later. Offering a spectrum of choices is much more effective; then, you feel free and empowered.
Dean OrnishRead

Similar quotes

Nobody wins when the police are sent to look after people suffering from mental health problems; vulnerable people don't get the care they need and deserve, and the police can't get on with the job they are trained to do.
Theresa MayRead
Seventy per cent of all patients who come to physicians could cure themselves if they got rid of their fears and worries.
Dale CarnegieRead
Today, the practice of medicine in an urban, technological society rarely provides either the time or the environment to encourage a doctor-patient relationship that promotes healing.
Bill MoyersRead
No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training... what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.
SocratesRead
AIDS is a plague - numerically, statistically and by any definition known to modern public health - though no one in authority has the guts to call it one.
Larry KramerRead
Low-income people, racial or ethnic minorities, pregnant women, seniors, people with special needs, people in rural areas - they all have a much harder time accessing a dentist than other groups of Americans.
Bernie SandersRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.