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I love the enthusiasm I see when people decide to make changes in their health. They’ve had that “aha” moment where they’ve decided they’ve had enough of not feeling awesome and they’re ready to make serious changes! YES! Music to my hears.
 
But sadly what I often see is people making WAY too many changes all at once. They’ve “got a plan” and they’re going to DO IT (dammit). Awesome. I love a good plan.
 
What I don’t love is rigidity. Because when you (human) don’t follow that plan EXACTLY as it’s written what I often see happen is you (human) make that mean something about your capacity to be successful with these changes. Usually this is based on your previous experiences around making changes. Cue your childhood story about how you’re “not good at _____.”
 
And then instead of seeing you ROCK your new healthy lifestyle, I see you getting frustrated, feeling shitty & quitting. And that breaks my heart.
 
Because it doesn’t need to be that way!
 
Healthy habits are formed one choice at a time. And ONE choice that doesn’t align perfectly with the “plan” doesn’t make you a failure or incapable of following said plan – it makes you human.
 
So focus on changes you can make one choice at a time, one day at a time. Be in it for the LONG game. And consider this…
 
If you’ve been inactive for a while, or not making great choices with your nutrition or sleep for a period of time, you’ve built up some habits. It’s your “default setting.” You turn back to that default in times of stress & difficulty. You go there when you’re on “autopilot” (which most of us are on MOST of the time). So when you go to make some changes you need to realize that change takes effort. Consistent effort – over a long period of time.
 
So instead of “ripping the bandaid” as I call it, consider making one small shift in ONE area. Be successful with it. Notice how you feel making that change. Once you’ve got that default setting restored to your optimal settings, THEN tackle another habit.
 
One choice at a time, one day at a time. And for goodness sake’s – ENJOY it!