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By Matt Garland, of Healthy Lifestyle Design Who is Matt? Matt is a healthy lifestyle geek extraordinaire! His turbulent yet exhilarating personal health quest has inspired his philosophy of Healthy Lifestyle Design (HLD). The HLD philosophy is simple – design a euphoric, healthy, and fulfilling life free of restrictive perspectives and conventional templates. This belief is founded on the idea that a remarkable, healthy life is among the few great ways to maximize the human experience. *** Are you in a healthy relationship? No, not with a significant other but with yourself. Your intra-personal health relationship is like any other. It needs honesty. It needs reciprocity. It needs devotion. And above all else, it needs a spark! But not all sparks are created equal. Some sparkle but never ignite. Some smolder but never produce fire. Others will burn intensely but flame out quickly. And then there are those that explode into an eternal flame! Which spark is best suited to vitalize a lifetime of health and happiness? The eternal flame! Don't get me wrong. Any health spark is good. Sparks trigger action. And action is the linchpin in designing a healthy lifestyle. But if your spark is fading then you face a choice - stay the course with a so-so healthy lifestyle, or try something new that can foster healthy greatness. Yes, your health spark is a choice, your choice. If you're in an unhealthy or sub-healthy relationship, then you are empowered with the choice to change it. This same choice is SparkPeople's passion and mission--to SPARK millions of PEOPLE to live healthier lives and reach their goals. Make the SparkPeople choice and transform your spark into an eternal flame! The 6 Benefits of Transforming Your Health Spark into an Eternal Flame1. Bulletproof ResolveThe road to healthy lifestyle greatness is imperfect and mysterious. Everyone encounters setbacks, detours, and temptations. That's normal; that's life. The secret to navigating around these would-be health derailers and finding your way is to keep moving forward, even when the world around you wants you to stop.Finding such resolve can be difficult, but it is exponentially easier when your healthy lifestyle quest is fueled by an eternal flame. How so? Because an eternal flame unleashes your tenacious courage. It emboldens you to stand by your convictions in the face of unhealthy naysayers. It distills temptations into obscurity. It bewitches you to never give up or give in. 2. Unstoppable MomentumDid you know that your healthy relationship is like a physics experiment? It's true because the same laws of motion apply. An object in motion wants to stay in motion. And the faster an object travels the harder it is to stop it. That's momentum, the accelerator of motion.Why does momentum matter in building a healthy relationship? Because momentum generates the force you need to power through obstacles--shattering healthy plateaus and reviving your healthy pursuits. And if strong enough, this health force can make you unstoppable. You need an eternal flame to kindle such an unstoppable health force. It's simple math. Force = mass x acceleration. To ignite your acceleration (aka momentum) you need a potent stimulate. And there's nothing more potent than pure desire, which is all that an eternal flame is. 3. Magnetic InspirationA truly healthy life is crammed with many healthy relationships. It is not a journey traveled alone. Some guide us. Some encourage us. Then there are those that inspire us. These beacons of inspiration give us hope and illuminate the healthy path forward.This light emanates from their healthy eternal flame. And it does more than just show us the way forward. It pulls us forward. It's magnetic. A lackluster health spark cannot achieve this. It isn't strong or mature enough. Such magnetism is the gift that keeps on giving. The more inspiration you receive the more you give forward. This creates a domino effect of wonderful consequence - inspiring ever more people to live healthier lives. 4. Priceless CharismaEveryone has a health accent. This accent vivifies one's character. It's a gateway into one's most intimate self. So, what does your small and ordinary health spark say about you?Conventional sparks are admirable but unremarkable. They signal that you're interested in improving your health and happiness, but that you haven't fully succeed yet. It may even signal that you lack the character to strive for greatness. Simply put - you don't have that "healthy spunk"; that healthy charisma that moves mountains and inspires a tribe of followers. An eternal flame charges such priceless charisma. It gives you a zesty accent that makes you unique and memorable. It emboldens you to explore the unknown as you seek ever greater health and happiness. And it captivates others and enables you to build everlasting relationships. 5. Euphoric JoyA little, fledgling spark is good. A roaring eternal flame is fantastic! A little spark kindles brief and sporadic moments of joy. But an eternal flame unleashes torrents of unbridled euphoria! Which sounds like a happier and healthier lifestyle to you?Naturally, the eternal flame itself cannot magically conjure such impressive results. Instead, it fills you up with such hope, passion, courage, and resolve for remarkable health that whatever actions you take to design your healthy lifestyle will be euphoric. You'll love the journey, and that's the point! The secret to a euphoric lifestyle is to lose control of life's uncontrollable banes and devote yourself to the best lifestyle for you. Not someone else's definition of a healthy life, but a life how you define it. Focus on becoming a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else. 6. Superhuman ResultsIt's insane, pompous, and insincere for anyone to promise superhuman results. All the fitness gimmicks and supplement shenanigans don't work because they lack the one (and only) ingredient that does - your internal spark. That may be cheesy, but it doesn't mean it isn't true.Choosing to transform your spark into an eternal flame isn't a promise of superhuman results. It's a pledge to achieve healthy lifestyle greatness. Only you can make this pledge. And if forged honestly, it will become your superpower. What can this eternal flame superpower do? You already know - it forges your bulletproof resolve, it generates your unstoppable momentum, it triggers your magnetic inspiration, it accentuates your priceless charisma, and it stimulates euphoric joy! And that's the crux--the greatest secret of all. A healthy eternal flame can't produce superhuman results. But it transforms you into a person that can.  Matthew Garland is the author of the blog Healthy Lifestyle Design. Do you have a healthy eternal flame? What fuels it?  You will earn 5 SparkPoints
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Comments
Thank you for inspiring me!
Cheers!
Matt Report
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Carol Report
PeaCe! Report
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I'm thrilled that you all are going after your eternal flames! Well done!
Cheers!
Matt Report
1) SP site and the book 'The Spark'
2) SparkFriends
3) ME! Report
1) SP site and the book 'The Spark'
2) SparkFriends
3) ME! Report
This is the best thing on this topic I have ever read and as I was reading I kept saying YES! YES! YES! MATT YOU GOT THIS RIGHT!
PJ Report
One of the reasons I love SP
What can this eternal flame superpower do? You already know - it forges your bulletproof resolve, it generates your unstoppable momentum, it triggers your magnetic inspiration, it accentuates your priceless charisma, and it stimulates euphoric joy!
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Matt Report
This is a blog that inspires me to search for MY passionate reason to get out of bed and reaching for my personal best - in everything! Thank you Matthew.
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