How many times have you given up an unhealthy habits and landed right back where you started?
If you answered “that’s me,” don’t beat yourself up; you’re definitely not alone. Most of us want to adopt and stick to healthy habits, but few of us are able to do so consistently.
Well, hopefully this blog post will help change that once and for all.
Don’t Believe the Lie of Motivation
You’ve probably think that you’re different and simply not “motivated’ like other people.
The truth is, however that motivation fluctuates. It’s perfectly normal to be highly driven one week and rather apathetic the next.
Don’t waste time feeling bad about your fluctuating levels of motivation, this only makes you “more human”.
Roll with it and adjust accordingly.
Write Down your goals
Have you ever written down your health related goals? This may probably sound corny and unnecessary, but it actually works.
According to one study, people who wrote down their goals and shared updates with their friends on a weekly basis were 33% more likely to achieve them. Why is that? Writing down your goals can help you focus and actually create a plan. Very often, those vague but brilliant ideas turn into solid plans sometimes after they hit the pen and paper. Write them down!
Specify the When, Where, and How
It’s hard to achieve goals unless you have a solid plan of action. So to reach them, specify the where, when, and how. This is called implementation intention. When these parameters are specified, we increase our chances of follow through and compliance.
Set Realistic Deadlines:
If you don’t have a deadline at work, do you always get your work done on time? Probably not. And the same logic is applicable to you and your health goals.
Set guidelines but make them realistic. You’re most likely to stick with a plan if its doable.
Get Support from Friends or Family
True friends are those who give encouragement and help make us accountable for our actions. And if they are honest, they will tell you “like it is”
If you have a friend that has similar goals, you’re in luck. Tackling your goals together can actually increase your chance of success.
Studies show that people who exercise together are more likely to be more compliant with an exercise regiment. So buddy up whenever possible in order to help make your fitness goals a reality.
Use Healthy Competition
Competition is a great motivator. For some reason, winning can really increase your self-esteem.
If you’re planning to lose weight or eat healthy, consider making it into a competition. Compete with friends, neighbors or even coworkers.
Why? Because research shows that competitive weight loss actually works. Apparently, reality TV has caught on to this (i.e The Biggest Loser)
Don’t Get Discouraged
You’re not going to be consistent 100% of the time, and that’s okay. When you’re good, reward yourself for the things that you have accomplished. People respond better to reward than punishment when they need to change behaviors. So when you fall short of your fitness goals, don’t beat yourself up. Keep going!!