Last week, I talked to you about the definition of Mindset and how your mindset affects your health, fitness level, wellbeing and overall success in life.
Today we’re going to follow that with the other side of the mindset coin–habits. We all have them in some way or another. Those habits that have just become actions on autopilot without much thought or consideration as to how they are affecting us long term. And some of these habits sabotage what we really want out of life.
It can be something as simple as calling in a delivery meal when we haven’t grocery shopped. Or coming home from work and watching tv, surfing the net, hanging out on facebook instead of working out or going out for a walk. It can be sleeping in or sleeping later each morning instead of waking up to fix a healthy breakfast or prepare meals ahead of time.
Seemingly small habits, day in and day out, over time, add up.
So our mindsets and our habits are really a huge part of who we are and who we become and they are intertwined.
I’ll share an example that I like to use with my clients.
Would you expect to see results after one workout? Of course not. Would you expect to see results after four workouts? Not really. Would you expect to see results after 200 workouts? Most definitely! Well, if you worked out four times a week for one year that would be over 200 workouts! How would you imagine you would look and feel after 200 workouts?
Each day you have the choice to make decisions, based on your mindset; those decisions, over time, become habits. Your mindset may be something like “I’m not worth it so it doesn’t really matter” or “ I’m never going to reach my goal weight.” Remember, your thoughts direct your actions, which create your reality.
Here’s another example maybe you can relate to. We all make at least five choices a day about what to eat. Let’s say there are three meals plus a couple of snacks. Five choices in one day isn’t such a big deal, but what about five choices a day for one year – that comes to 1,825 choices of what we choose to put into our bodies (much more if you add beverages). Does that mean all 1,825 have to be the best choices – probably not, but each meal, each snack, each day, we have choices, and over time, those choices matter.
Over the course of three years, you have approximately 5,475 food choices you can make. You just don’t notice the difference right away – not the first meal, not the first day – so it’s easy to give up or just not pay attention. If you change your mindset to getting healthier instead of thinking you have to feel deprived, you can change your habits accordingly.
Note: Does this mean you can’t have an occasional splurge? Certainly not – just be aware and be honest with yourself about what that is and how often it is. Maybe for you, if you eat healthy 80 – 90% of the time, the other 10-20% isn’t a big deal – it depends on your goals. Enjoy an occasional treat – no guilt, no shame, just enjoy.
Once these habits become part of your life, and they’re on autopilot, amazing things start to happen. BUT it doesn’t happen after one day or one week, and not really even after one month, although you’ll start seeing changes in one month. Habits are daily decisions we make, routines we find ourselves in that either move us closer to or further from what we want out of life.
Every decision we make, every habit we form, matters.
So how do you start to make a change?
START WITH SOMETHING SMALL
You don’t have to overhaul everything at once
Look at the habits that no longer serve who or what you want to be. Which ones can you start changing?
Start with one habit this month. Once you have that one in place start with another one. If you have a habit of drinking coffee every day or diet soda (like I did), what can you replace that with? What worked for me was to replace it with a nutrient-packed green smoothie. I started to feel better and lost more weight. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a coffee every once in awhile, it just means it’s not a habit anymore.
Small changes over time can completely change your life. Again, most of us are just conditioned to think “I have to have it NOW.” That’s not the way it works.
Real change takes time and patience and persistence is key.
Keep it simple. PICK ONE. By picking one habit to improve each month, over the course of one year, that’s 12 new habits.
Need some ideas? Here’s a list to get you started:
- Drink water instead of soda
- Get enough sleep
- Don’t skip meals
- Exercise
- Prepare more meals at home and eat out less often
- Take your own lunch to work
- Have health snacks on hand
- Eat more vegetables
- Reduce stress
- Include healthy fats in my daily food plan
A great free app I like for tracking habits and getting daily reminders is “Good Habits.” With this free app you can enter up to 3 habits you want to work on at a time.
So choose the habit you will start with this month. Remember not to make it restrictive. What can you live with long-term? What can you add in or trade out? This is YOUR plan so make it work for you.
NEXT WEEK: GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY