I subscribe to the concept that our outer environment is a direct manifestation of our inner environment. This principle helps me to distill the confusion in the world of philosophy, spirituality, and health related concepts. When I look to change any fundamental pillar in my world I must look within myself first before I look outside for guidance. As a nutrition and health consultant, peak performance coach, and public educator it would be easy to administer all the answers to the ailments of the world. The truth is I am merely a voice for a message. At the core of that message, regardless of what the topic may be, is that each of us is a locked treasure chest and if we learn to craft the key that perfectly fits that lock we will have opened up the X-factor in all health and transformation technologies.
Consider these three suggestions from my book The Life Food Peak Performance System on activating self-reliance.
Reaffirm your Goals: When times get tough, remind yourself why you took your first steps in this direction. The key to keeping the fire in your heart blazing is to take a step back when needed to reevaluate your circumstance and how you got to this point. Look over the original goals you set way back when and see if they match with your current values. As you move forward you will begin to change as a person and your values will evolve as the process evolves. Sometimes we must look back to the past in order to gain a renewed vision for the future.
Understand Physical Signals: When we experience discomfort in our bodies it may prove beneficial to consider ways we are holding in emotions or judgments. Outer manifestations reflect inner turmoil and emotional conflict. We must not only detoxify the body but allow our tangled emotions to loosen their grip on our lives. No food can feed a hungry soul; therefore we must make sure we also feed ourselves love and positive thoughts.
Identify emotions that may be holding you back by first placing your attention on physical stagnation such as neck cramps, sore muscles and joints, chronic headaches, hip aches, creaking of the knees, and cramping of the calf muscles. These are all indicators that a) you need to begin moving your body more, and b) you may have emotional holding patterns that are lodging into regions of your body.
You can begin releasing these patterns by sifting through your past and performing acts of intentional forgiveness. Forgive those that hurt you; forgive your parents, family, friends, and most of all forgive yourself. Write a letter of gratitude for those who have aided you somewhere in your life and write a 
letter of forgiveness for others who have hurt you. Whether they read it or not, you write it not for their sake but in order to let go and let live. Practice raw food therapy, juicing, superfoods, movement therapy, and forgiveness work in order to relinquish these holding patterns.
Seeking Guidance: When seeking professional nutritional or health advice, evaluate the mentor you are consulting. Make sure those you seek advice from are not only competent in the subject matter at hand but they are a displaying the traits equated with balanced health. The health industry is saturated with intellectualism and book knowledge but less common are those who have integrated that knowledge into their own lifestyle.
The biggest downfall of most health and medical professionals is their limited framework in their field of study. By this I mean most professionals will pigeonhole themselves in a niche they find comfort in and most of the information they give is predicated on their own bias. The medical institutions are likely the most guilty of this characteristic as the fundamental education they receive is one sided. This concept applies to all fields of study in which we look to others for guidance. In order to avoid the perpetual confusion many endure, seek out individuals who are competent in managing and maintaining their own health. This is the core attribute that will provide a clue if they are competent in providing you insight into your own health strategy.
