The start of the new year is a time of year when people get in gear about health and fitness, and I want everyone to succeed at those goals. I wanted to share with you tips on creating healthy habits.
When a person creates habits, you will be more likely to engrain those routines into your everyday life where it doesn’t seem like work. No diets. Not fads. It is just creating the habits that will take you on a new journey.
Creating a new routine isn’t necessarily about weight loss and can be applied to any habits you are trying to develop in the new year. I’ve used this habit creating to other areas of my life connecting with my faith and building a more consistent workout schedule, and even posting on this blog.
Habits are just another way of creating a new routine in your life and are the things we do without thinking about getting them done. It’s like we go on auto-pilot. Habits aren’t always right, but for now, I’m focusing on building positive habits to take us into the future.
Tips for creating new habits:
- Determine what habit you want to develop and the reason behind wanting to create the pattern. It’s important to outline this as a reminder of why you are making the extra effort to do something new and different. There might even be a few times you will need to refer back to this when you start to struggle.
- Pinpoint what steps you need to take to put the action behind the plan. Yes, I want you to develop an action plan that will outline the things you can do to make this a habit for you. If you need to start a workout routine, get together the workout plan, how many days a week you need to do it, and what days you’re going to do the program. I’m trying to get more focused on my faith, so I joined a bible study group that meets weekly.
- Focus on creating consistency. Building consistent practice means even doing ith when you’re short on time or don’t feel like doing it. Forcing yourself to step in the uncomfortable takes the excuses out of it. You may not turn cartwheels about doing it at that moment, but when you look back, you’ll be happy that you stepped up on those tough days. Creating new habits is also a character-building practice, which is something we need to remember along the way.
- Let the expectations go and develop patterns that will work with your life. Don’t look it from someone else’s perspective or model it precisely after Sue from Instagram went into her journey. Find the road that will work for you so that you will have long-term success instead of short term frustration.
New habits start by taking action. Nothing happens overnight, but new habits will form over time with a bit of consistency.
I’ve been busy with work and traveling, but my daily workout habit still stuck with me. After driving five-plus hours in the car and arriving late, I immediately put on my workout clothes and did a workout because it just felt like the thing to do.
Give yourself the grace to grow and change during the process. Eight years ago, at 340 pounds, I never thought I would be talking to you about building healthy habits in your life or that I would feel the need to get my daily workout done. Change can come by pinpointing what you want and the steps to getting there. Never underestimate the power of writing things down for that reminder and to implant those ideas into your head.
What new habits are you trying to create in the new year?
