Creating and Sticking to Healthy Habits

We’ve all gotten to that point in our lives. One day we realize that what we’re doing just isn’t working anymore. But for anyone familiar with anything in the realm of “New Year” resolutions, you know changing is hard, especially when the ice cream is just so lovely. Here are a few tips for setting and sticking to healthy habits.

SET CLEAR GOALS

First and foremost, when you are creating your new healthy habits, you need to have a clear goal in mind. You need a clear “why” behind this new shift in your life. If you decided that you are staying up entirely too late, for example, then your goal is to get more sleep. Now that we have a clear goal in mind, we can then decide what we are going to do to achieve this goal.

People gloss it over, but having a clear goal is critical. This a great resource when you are lacking motivation or trying to figure out exactly where you need to start.

FIND A WAY THAT WORKS FOR YOU

Take a moment, reflect, and figure out what works for you. Be entirely open to trial and error to find a method that works for you and your lifestyle. Write out a list of things you think you could do to achieve your goal and try them out. This is a great resource as you discover what does and doesn’t work for you.

Revisit your list periodically and cross off the things that don’t work and make a note of things that do.

Try and avoid getting sucked into “quick fixes,” what has worked for other people or what you feel is “expected” of you. For example, if your goal is to get more sleep, that may not look like setting yourself an earlier bedtime. You may find allowing for a good old fashion nap helps keep you alert and feeling rested.

BE INTENTIONAL

Once you’ve found what works, be ok with it not sticking immediately. Humans are creatures of habit. We like doing things the way we’ve always done.

There is going to be a time where you are going to need to be very intentional about making your new habit a part of your every day before you get to enjoy returning to autopilot.

It is going to take some time to get used to cooking for yourself if you’ve decided that you want to budget better and that twelve dollars you spend on a daily lunch at your favorite coffee shop isn’t serving that goal. Let every day be a new day, and make intentional decisions to implement your new habit into your life.

AVOID TRYING TO BE PERFECT

The worst thing you can do is be perfectionistic when it comes to developing healthy habits. Being a perfectionist is just going to discourage you and make you wonder why you even bothered in the first place when you have a less than stellar day.

Allow yourself to feel encouraged and empowered for what went right. It is all about celebrating the little victories; even when you have a bad day, this is a great resource for motivation. We’re all only human at the end of the day.

In the end, it is all about having crystal clear goals, committing to making intentional decisions to achieve those goals, and being gentle with yourself when you have an off day.