Making healthy choices can help us feel better and live longer. Maybe you’ve already tried to eat better, get more exercise and sleep, or reduce stress. It’s not easy to maintain these habits, but research shows how you can boost your ability to create and sustain a healthy lifestyle.
1. Know Your Habits.
The first step to changing your behavior is to create an awareness around what you do regularly. Regular things you do – from brushing your teeth to having a few drinks every night – can become habits. Repetitive behaviors that make you feel good can affect your brain in ways that create habits that may be hard to change. Habits often become automatic without much thought.
2. Make a Commitment to Yourself to Change.
Make a commitment to yourself that you’re going to do everything in your power to change your ways. Procrastinating is just going to make it harder to change a bad habit. Not only that, but the more you procrastinate, the longer it’s going to take to replace your bad habits with good ones. Make a conscious commitment to yourself that you are going to change. Commitment is necessary because that’s what is going to help you get the wheels in motion and propel you forwards.
3. Make a Plan.
Build a routine that you can follow. Your plan should include small, reasonable goals and specific actions you’ll take to move towards them. Consider what you think you’ll need to be successful. How can you change things around you to support your goals? You might need to stock up on healthy foods, remove temptations, or find a special spot to relax. Create a routine to where you are doing the same thing at the same time every day. When you designate a specific time to a specific habit, it is going to be a lot easier for you to actually maintain that habit.
4. Recognize What Obstacles Stand in your Way.
It’s just as important to plan for obstacles. Think about what might derail your best efforts to live healthier. How can you still make healthy choices during unexpected situations, in stressful times, or when tempted by old habits?
5. Stay on Track.
Keeping a record can help you stick with a habit. You can also place constant reminders around that remind you to pick yourself back up and keep moving forward. It will help you to consciously prioritize the habits you wish to develop. Identify negative thoughts and turn them into realistic, productive ones. If you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up. Encourage yourself every step of the way and continue to move forward no matter what challenges and obstacles you might have faced in the past.
6. Find Ways to Reward Yourself for Staying on Track.
One of the reasons we develop bad habits is because we get temporary satisfaction from them. Drinking, shopping, picking our nails – all of these habits help to reduce the stress that we may be experiencing, but only briefly. Give yourself a healthy reward when you’ve achieved a small goal or milestone. By rewarding yourself for staying on track, you help positively reinforce the behaviors that will help you develop and maintain good habits.
7. Be Patient.
Sometimes when you’re trying to adopt healthier habits, other health issues can get in the way. Improvement takes time and setbacks can happen. Focus on progress, not perfection.
The more you focus on developing good habits right now and repeatedly act on them, the sooner they start to become automatic. Anything you do for a long time – good or bad – will eventually become a habit, and once it does, it will become second nature for you. Use these tips to help develop the habits that are going to truly benefit you.
-Paulina Le
Health Fitness Specialist