This post first appeared in December of 2018

We’re creatures of habit.

But sometimes, those habits aren’t necessarily the best.

But what’s great about being a human, is that at ANY POINT, you can decide to change your habits or take up a new one!

Of course, that’s easier said than done, but I want to provide you with 5 easy-to-implement steps/tasks that will help you create a new habit, & one that you can stick with long term!

Be Realistic

When setting out with a new habit in mind, you HAVE to be realistic.

Can you see yourself doing X, Y or Z, long term?

What can you honestly commit yourself to?

Sure, it would be nice if we could all commit to 2 hours/day, 5 days a week to meditating, working out, and meal prepping, but that simply isn’t realistic for most people!

So ask yourself, what CAN you commit to?

Maybe that’s 3-30 min workouts a week.

If that’s the case, that’s great!

You can make a lot of progress in that time! 

I want to point out that we often fail at creating lasting habits because we aren’t realistic with ourselves at the time.

It’s okay to start with a smaller goal, that will eventually get you to a larger goal.

*Read more about SMART Goals HERE

So if you want to workout 2 hours a day, start by first committing to 30 minutes a day, and slowly work your way up!

At the same time, you also have to be realistic with your goals.

We would all love to lose our excess weight in as little time as possible, but could you, and are you willing to, put your life on hold when trying to drop 50 pounds in 3 months?

Or, would you rather enjoy life’s pleasures (holidays, birthdays, dinners out), learn how to achieve your goals, AND enjoy life, and lose those 50 pounds in, say, 6 months time?

Really take a moment to ask yourself, and if you feel comfortable, ask someone who you trust, what their thoughts are!

Start Slowly

In line with being realistic, you have to start slow, meaning, don’t try to change 5 habits at once.

Change one at a time.

Establish your new (realistic) habit, then work on changing another.

If you’re trying to quit smoking, eat more vegetables, workout 5 days a week, get more sleep AND drink more water, you’re going to get overwhelmed and throw all those changes out the window.

But if you focus on one habit at a time, say, getting more sleep, you will establish a better sleep routine and then you can focus on quitting smoking.

It’s like a domino effect.

When one habit is created, it’s easier & faster to create other ones!

Give it Time, Be Patient

Slow and steady wins the race in the game of life.

It takes CONSISTENCY for changes to occur.

And CONSISTENCY takes time.

Which is probably not what you want to hear, but you know it’s true.

After all, you aren’t what you do one time but rather, you are what you do time and time again.

As mentioned, consistency and time go hand in hand.

You have to be consistent over time for your new habits to solidify themselves.

You have to be patient and let your body do it’s thing, before you get impatient and give it all up.

Often times, the moment you quit is right before you start to see the progress that you’ve been working hard for!

Lose The “All or Nothing” Mentality

You HAVE to change your mentality from “all or nothing” to a more balanced mindset.

It is critical.

There are very few things in life that are ALL or NOTHING, and the same goes with trying to create a new habit.

Nothing is “all in” or “all out”.

You don’t give up on your friend when she forgot to text you back.

You don’t berate a child who falls down when learning to walk, and tell them “oh well, guess walking just isn’t for you”.

Walking is a habit we learn!

Meetings will pop up and interfere with your workout, surprise parties will happen, and holidays will come, & by allowing yourself to enjoy the present moment of great food and even greater company, doesn’t mean you failed.

It means you ARE HUMAN!

Enjoy those celebrations and random occurrences, that may interfere with that day’s plans, AND THEN MORE ON.

Tomorrow is always a new day.

Drink your water, and enjoy the fact that you didn’t give up on yourself!

Ask for Help

Whether that’s guidance, accountability, programming, or someone to literally call you every day to see how it went, asking for help may be the ticket you need.

Asking for help is like using a GPS.

It will get you to your destination faster than if you tried to figure out how to get there on your own. 

Ask yourself, how many times have you tried to create a workout routine and then one day, you just stopped?

How often did you try to start eating better, only to find yourself at an office work party & throwing everything you know out the window?

That’s you trying to get to Point A to Point B, without you having any ideal where Point B even is.

Asking for help, whether that’s accountability from a friend or hiring a personal trainer, will not only SHOW you where Point B is, but will actually help you arrive there!

We HAVE to work on our mindset if we want to make better habits in life.

Start slow, be realistic, give it time, and most importantly, when you slip (which WILL happen, because we’re only human after all), don’t give up on yourself.

Reflect on what made you “slip”, learn from it, and move on.

And when in doubt, ask for help!

Tomorrow is a new day after all.

Rooting for you!

Veronica

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