You’ve laid out your workout clothes, filled your water bottle, prepped your snacks, packed your lunch, and charged your activity tracker. You are ready to be a health superhero, conquering your bad habits.

But then you decide to watch just a few more minutes of your favorite Netflix show. You sleep through your alarm and miss your morning workout. You’re so busy getting your kids off to school that you forget to eat breakfast. To make up for your lack of sleep, you sneak in a Diet Coke. You can’t find your activity tracker anywhere. You tell yourself you’re hopeless and what’s the point of even trying to change your health. There’s too much to change.

Sound familiar to anyone?

I know I’ve been guilty of trying to be Wonder Woman when it comes to my health. I want to be the very best at sleeping, exercise, eating well, hydrating, stress management, and all with a positive mindset. However, it can be overwhelming to try to tackle all of these habits at the same time--you end up in a nasty cycle of feeling confident, making progress, reality hitting, and then starting over and over again.

I’ve learned it’s easier to focus on one behavior at a time, with the goal of turning that behavior into a healthy habit. Now, how do I do this?

1. Start Small: The trick to making these habits stick is to start small and easy. Pick one tiny part of a behavior you are trying to change and slowly build up to where you want to be. The idea is make it so easy that you will be successful.

2. Think Positive: Positive self-talk will help you stick to your new habit. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day of your workout and congratulate yourself for simply trying to make a change! I’m always here if you need some positive encouragement.

3. Track Success: Find the best way for you to keep track of your habit changes. Visualize your progress whether it’s marking it on your calendar, keeping a list in your planner, or using an app.

Let’s go back to our scenario from the beginning: Since she has a habit of drinking Diet Coke and wants to drink more water, her behavior change could be “I will take 1 sip of water every time I sit down to eat a meal or snack for the day.” Who couldn’t complete that, right?

To keep a positive mindset, she repeats a daily belief to herself such as “Every step I take (even small ones) will lead me to a healthy body”. She becomes accountable by tracking how many times a day she drinks a sip of water on her phone and visualizes her success. She eventually reaches her goal of drinking enough water each day because it becomes a habit.

We are all capable of being “Wonder Women” --but don’t forget that even superheroes have weaknesses they have to work on! I’m here to help you reach your goals, one habit at at time.

Your biggest cheerleader,

Natalie

#habits #selftalk #mindset