Struggling to Reach Your Health Goals? Sustainable Strategies For a Healthier Life.
Research shows that by mid-February 2024, four out of five people gave up on their New Year’s Resolutions. You may find yourself among this statistic after setting health and wellness goals for the New Year. However, instead of dwelling on the setbacks, let’s explore a few actionable strategies to equip you for the future.
Adopting healthier habits isn't just about altering behaviors—it's about embracing a new lifestyle. However, this type of lifestyle change usually requires time, intention, and awareness—qualities often overlooked in our fast-paced lives.
“New goals don’t deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.”
Where does it go wrong?
Many resolutions fall short due to their impracticality for the long term. For instance, committing to daily gym sessions in January might seem feasible during the holidays but becomes challenging when routines resume. Once school drop off and pickups, lunch-boxes, birthday parties, and other family demands come along, it can be hard to maintain the momentum.
This highlights the importance of aligning goals with existing responsibilities as the best way to integrate the change over time.
The first thing to do is review the health goals you have set for yourself:
* Have you overshot your capacity to incorporate this new behaviour change into your current schedule?
* Can you scale your new commitment back to a practice that fits more easily into the rhythm of your life, taking the pressure off while still engaging in the process of change? Start small and get used to the change, and as your confidence grows you can add to your initial plan.
* How important is it to you to go to the gym 5 days a week?
* Can one or two of those days be swapped out for taking the kids to the park or doing squats while cleaning the house, if it reduces the overall stress and stretch?
Get creative. Again, this is not about the long-term plan. This is the initial process of behaviour change.
Make it exciting, but also manageable, while you shift into this new identity. You don’t have to get to the peak of the mountain before you even set out on your journey.
Lesson 1: Get practical: Assess how your goals fit with your current responsibilities and determine whether you are avoiding taking action because you have set the bar too high too early. Think about ways you can incorporate your change while still fulfilling your other duties and needs.
“Lesson 1: Get practical: Assess how your goals fit with your responsibilities and determine whether you are avoiding taking action because you have set the bar too high too early.
Think about ways you can incorporate your change while still fulfilling your other duties and needs. ”
Another stumbling block in lifestyle change can be the pervasive influence of self-doubt and past failures, perpetuated by the dreaded "Monkey Mind” we all possess. This internal chatter undermines your confidence just when you’re setting out on something new. Recognising and managing these emotional fluctuations are pivotal to sustainable lifestyle change.
It is important to remember that those voices can get particularly noisy when trying something new. Although well-meaning, serving as a means to protect you from harm, these voices can often prevent you from stepping out of your comfort zone and giving new things a go.
Lesson 2: Be aware of the Monkey Mind when embarking on a healthy lifestyle change. Although it is usually well-meaning, this voice can get in the way of you overcoming self doubt and moving towards a better future. Practicing mindfulness can help you to notice those voices before they dictate your actions.
“Lesson 2: Be aware of the Monkey Mind when embarking on a healthy lifestyle change.
Although it is usually well-meaning, this voice can get in the way of you overcoming self doubt and moving towards a better future.
Practicing mindfulness can help you to notice those voices before they dictate your actions. ”
By bringing awareness to and taming our monkey minds, we empower ourselves to navigate change mindfully, fostering resilience and engaging in lasting transformation.
In this pursuit, self awareness is the compass that guides us through change towards a healthier and happier life. Slow down the process of change to something manageable and practical, and enter it with intention to create a slow and positive shift in your identity. These are a few ways to make your goals a part of sustainable lifestyle for the future.