Even when we’re very motivated, adopting shiny, new, healthy habits is usually easier said than done. We may have the best intentions to change, to becoming better, healthier versions of ourselves – mentally and physically – but any progress we make is often nothing more than glacial in pace, before stopping altogether.
Why is this? Why is it so hard for us to form good, healthy habits?
Recognising The Challenges
One of the main problems is that our reasons for wanting to change are often negative – fear, guilt or regret. Behavioural experts agree that long-lasting change has the best chance of success if it comes from positive thinking. In other words, if you believe that the change you want to make is difficult and terrible, it almost certainly will be. Get rid of that negative head talk! Become a change optimist! Believe that change is good, and that there’s something exciting waiting for you on the other side of the transition.
Another obstacle in our path to healthy habit success is that we always start out far too enthusiastically! We hit the gym for three hours every day, and then end up too injured or exhausted to continue. Or we decide to give up smoking, chocolate, and wine all at the same time, and then wonder why we can’t find the willpower to reach even one of these goals. Making small, daily changes is a far less overwhelming, and therefore more sustainable, way of achieving meaningful change. Remember that change is a process, not an event.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Lao Tzu
We also stand a far greater chance of sticking to healthy habits if we make them specific. Don’t say “I’ll exercise more.” Say “I’ll walk for half an hour every day.”
Ultimately, one of the biggest saboteurs of all in our quest for healthy change is procrastination. We’ll do it when we have more money, more time, or when someone comes along and gives us our big break.
Stop! Stop waiting. Do it NOW.