Changing how you think about yourself, your life, and your difficulties has a tremendous impact on how you walk through the world. Attitude is at the foundation. There’s a huge amount of research backing this up.

• People with a more positive attitude toward aging actually age at a slower rate
• People with a more positive attitude toward their bodies are healthier because they treat themselves better
• People who view failure as a learning experience are more likely to try again, and again and again if necessary and finally succeed

Your mindset can play a dramatic role in your health and well being. Mindset isn’t magic and it’s not the only thing you need, but a positive mindset is the foundation of a vibrant life.

Mindfulness means being aware of whatever is present in the moment without judgment. That’s it. You don’t need to sit in meditation for hours, or achieve a trance-like state, or turn your thoughts off.

You can bring mindfulness to your eating — and the rest of your life.

Meditation is a great practice, but it isn’t for everyone. If you’ve had difficulties meditating (or don’t know how) here’s a mindfulness practice you can try instead of meditation. Choose any everyday task, like washing your hands. Be present to every move you make. Say to yourself, I’m turning on the water. I’m wetting my hands. I’m picking up the soap… When your mind wanders, and it will, simply bring it back to whatever you’re doing. I’m rubbing soap on my hands, etc. No need to make the practice long or complicated.

If you want to live more vibrantly, start with your attitude and build in mindfulness. This is the foundation. You need to be solid on these things before you move ahead.

I bet you have things you hate about your body — jiggly thighs, protruding stomach, laugh lines, joints that hurt, hair that won’t behave … We’ve all got something.

Could you love the body you have right now in spite of it all?

Learning to love the body you have right now is one of the secrets to vibrant living.

I’ll be honest. It’s a tough one, a really tough one, especially if you’ve been internalizing the idea that your body has been a problem all of your life. And you might think, “If I love myself as I am, then I won’t have any motivation to change.”

Here’s the hard truth: Losing weight isn’t going to make you love yourself more.

You can’t dislike yourself and do good for yourself at the same time. It’s actually easier to pass on the cookies and chips when you want to do what’s best for you because you’re worth it.

Everyone on this planet deserves love, including you, imperfections and all.

Notice I didn’t say exercise more. If you have traumatic memories of exercise in gym class or dread working out or think of exercise as a thing you are supposed to do, simply think about moving your body.

That starts with simply moving more than you are. It could be moving around your house or garden cleaning up. It could be going for a slow walk … and then build slowly. Did you love riding a bike as a kid or swimming? Did you used to love to dance? Are you curious about pickle ball or longing to hike again?

Get started. Do something that brings you joy.

It might not feel great right away, but the less you move, the harder it gets.

So get started. You might feel stiff or sore. You might get winded easily. You might hate being a beginner again. It can be frustrating and humbling, especially if you are doing it around other people.

Do it for yourself, because being strong and fit is empowering. Being active helps you do things you want to do with your life.

This is where we usually start, but if you’re like me, that never worked and if it did, it didn’t last. When you have a solid foundation of positive attitude and mindfulness, when you start loving your body as it is, you create a strong foundation that allows food changes to work differently.

Eating well might mean shifts in what and how much you eat, but it isn’t another diet.

In fact, you don’t have to change everything at once. You can make one shift. Give up fried food or soda, or add a vegetable to each meal.

There are no strict rules, but I recommend these eating guidelines.

Vibrant Living is a way of life, and weight loss is a side effect. It takes time, but it works. And the good news is, if you “mess up” or start to get off track, you know what to do to get back: check on your attitude, refocus on mindfulness, remember to love your body.

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with this system is jumping right to the last two steps or rushing to get to them. Building a strong foundation makes a huge — and lasting — difference.