Practicing healthy behaviors every day can help you have god, life-long health. Think about such behaviors as you answer the questions below.
1). What are some healthy behaviors that apply to your life right now?
A: Beginning to exercise regularly and practicing life skills are the healthy behaviors that apply to my life at this time.
2). List two healthy behaviors that you think will apply to your life when you have reached adulthood.
A: I believe practicing life skills, such as being a wise consumer, and considering the consequences of a decision are significant healthy behaviors that will apply to my life when I have reached adulthood.
3). List two healthy behaviors that apply to your life now and will also apply to your life in later years. What advantages is there to practicing these behaviors now?
A: The advantage of practicing life skills, such as communicating effectively, using refusal skills, and making great decisions is being able to become skilled at these behaviors as you progress into adulthood.
4). Which of the behaviors that you listed in the previous question could you start practicing right now?
A: I could begin to practice making great decisions.
5). Choose one healthy behavior and make a list of actions that you can take now to practice it.
A: You can practice using refusal skills, if you are in a situation by blaming someone else, providing a reason, ignoring the request or pressure, leaving the situation, refusing, declining firmly, keep saying no, making a joke of it, making an excuse, suggest something else to do, change the subject, or team up with someone?
Good!
Using refusal skills is a healthy behavior that you can start practicing now. Here are some actions you can take to practice it:
1) Blame someone else: Shift the responsibility to another person in a polite and non-confrontational way.
2) Provide a reason: Give a valid and logical explanation for why you cannot engage in the activity or behavior.
3) Ignore the request or pressure: Simply disregard the request and focus on something else.
4) Leave the situation: Physically remove yourself from the situation if necessary.
5) Firmly refuse: Clearly and assertively decline the request without wavering.
6) Keep saying no: Repeat your refusal to reinforce your decision.
7) Make a joke of it: Use humor to deflect the request and lighten the mood.
8) Make an excuse: Provide a plausible excuse for why you are unable to participate.
9) Suggest something else to do: Offer an alternative activity or solution.
10) Change the subject: Redirect the conversation to a different topic.
11) Team up with someone: Find a support system or ally who can help you resist the pressure together.
By practicing these actions, you can develop your refusal skills and become better equipped to make healthy decisions that align with your values and priorities.