Creating NEW Habits...
We have all tried this and we have all failed before.
I want to share with you how I think you can do it and stick to it! What works for science and physics also holds true to building habits. When you’re new to making positive changes that last and stick, our bodies will fight us for a number of weeks because we’re forcing it to do new things.
HOWEVER…If you can rack up a few small victories along the way, especially in the beginning, it becomes infinitely easier to CONTINUE having small victories.
Remove emotion from the equation – automate your habit as much as possible so you don’t even have to think about it. Here are some examples:
Example: If your goal is to get up and workout in the morning, then go to sleep with your workout stuff at the foot of your bed. If that’s not enough, sleep in your workout clothes. As soon as you wake up, before you have time to think about sleeping in, push yourself out of bed. Struggle getting out of bed? Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room so you HAVE to get out of bed to turn it off. I had to do this initially!
Example: If your goal is to eat healthy every day, don’t give yourself an option of not eating healthy – throw out the junk food in your house and start preparing meals the night before. Better yet, do your weekly meal planning on the weekends when you have a little more time for planning and grocery shopping.
If you tend to let emotion get in the way, automate your habit-changing process as much as possible. That way, you won’t have to ask, “should I skip this or should I not” or “should I eat this or should I not?” you just DO things because that’s what you’re doing.
What if excuses were no longer an option? What if you decided right now that you are no longer allowed to use excuses? Suddenly, your decision to do or not do something just got a WHOLE lot easier. No isn't an option…so you might as well do it.
Maybe you don’t have that kind of iron will, and you need help. Accountability is KEY. With the challenge groups I do monthly, I have already set up that accountability factor for you, so do use it. However, if you haven't joined one of my groups, you can always get an accountability partner - find a friend or family member that you trust to hold you accountable towards your goals! Or better yet, sign up to have me as your FREE coach and join my team! :)
Here are some suggestions for the steps to making NEW habits work (these habits apply to everything, not just exercise or nutrition...)
•Start small - pick ONE habit that’s easily completed. Do it every day.
•Build momentum - as you get good at completing that small task, slowly expand and build momentum with your victories.
•Automate - remove emotion from the equation! The less steps between you and desired habit the more likely you’ll be to finish.
•Remain accountable – do what you need to do to keep yourself accountable through the first few weeks. Make the pain of skipping your habit more painful than actually spending the 5-15 minutes doing it!
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