Habits
Habits by definition are the tasks that we do daily without thinking. These habits, the things we do daily are what affect the results of our goals. How much energy we have. The food we choose to eat. The quality of our sleep. They affect aspect of our day. Some will support our success and others will hinder. I challenge you to be curious about your daily habits and how they affect you and the version of you that you are trying to achieve.
When we are wanting to achieve goals- what ever they maybe; personal, profession, family. We need to take action. Taking action requires taking steps daily to move us forward. These actions are other small daily activities that move us towards our goal. We will run into bumps along the way; reasons why we CAN’T do things - these are excuses and choices. We are all capable of achieving amazing things.
Many people take on achieving our goals in ways that are not sustainable- such as resolutions, restrictions and elimination. I see if everyday with my clients- they want to lose weight so they eliminate whole food groups leaving them starving and moody. Start a workout regime and hit the gym everyday hard - end up exhausted and sore. We are a society of instant gratification. We LOVE our all or nothing approaches. However, the creation of new sustainable habits requires awareness, honestly and dedication.
The creation of habits that allow us to achieve our goals MUST be sustainable. We want to step into our goal and live our days going forward. We don’t want to get there then regress again. We want to grow and expand. We want this daily activity to be with us from here on out not something we only do for now. The key here is CREATION not elimination. If there is a habit that is not serving you; you’re want to replace it with a habit that will. For example I am not going to eat processed sugar - I can almost guarantee you as soon as you put that in your head you will crave and eat sugar more than you have in the few days previously. Instead I am going to snack on whole foods between meals or I am going to eat fruit for dessert.
The creation of habits take a few steps:
Start small! Starting with one single small habit. Make it easy to achieve then work up to the big habits. For example if you are wanting to incorporate daily movement start with one 20 minute walk each morning then. Or if you are wanting to eat “healthier” pick one meal or snack that you will include a vegetable with each day.
Do it everyday. New habits are NOT easy to create. A daily habit can take on average 3 months to create; meaning that it has become automatic. Starting small with a daily such as a 20 min walk you are more likely to stick with this rather than 1 hour at the gym 3 days a week. Once the daily walking is automatic you can then increase the intensity.
Make it easy. We are more likely to succeed with our daily habit if we are honest about the obstacles that stand in the way. Put your walking clothes beside your bed before you go to bed. Schedule it into your calendar. Make it a priority like you would with any other appointment you have. Pick a time that you rarely have conflict.
Stack your habits. Tying a new habit to an existing habit often will make the new habit more successful. Taking a look at your current routines is there a way to tie in a new one. Our beginning and end of the day routines tend to be our strongest. If you are already accustomed to waking up with an alarm at 6:30am try setting it for 6:15am and popping right into your walking gear. Or making a lunch to bring to work that includes a vegetable the night before when you are cleaning up from dinner.
Celebrate. Rewarding or celebrating your successes is something that we don’t do enough. Now this doesn’t need to be a huge endeavour but recognise when you have been consistent and done something well. It maybe having a friend join your morning walk or treat yourself to an audiobook to listen to while walking. Rewards and celebration and very important in creation of new habits.
The creation of a new habit is not a quick and easy process but is vital to achieving our goals. Set yourself up for success and know that you will not achieve perfection daily. Days of imperfection is often when we have the most growth. Be kind patient and most of celebrate yourself.
