Most of us start off the new year armed with resolutions to develop healthy lifestyle habits that we are determined to obey for the upcoming year. We are sure that this will be the year that our health will become our top priority.
However, many of us only make it a few days, or weeks, before the willpower crumbles and despite our best intentions, we fall back to our old ways. So, how do you create healthy habits that you will actually follow and not break within days? Here are a few simple strategies to change your outcome.
Start off by clarifying your “why.”
- Verbalize why you want to become healthier. For example, why do you want to lose weight, or stop smoking, or start exercising?
- Is it because you want to feel better?
- Is it because you want to live longer to care for your family? To enjoy your family?
- Is it because you want to make a difference to your community?
This “why” is like your North Star that can keep you motivated on those days when it’s cold or rainy, or when you feel discouraged that you are not making as much progress as expected, or when the holiday sweets beg to be sampled.
Learn how to establish a habit.
To create a habit, you have to do it every day. It is more important to develop daily consistency rather than the actual amount of time you spend doing the habit. It is easy to get overwhelmed in the beginning, so break the task into an action that you can accomplish in two minutes and add on as the habit becomes ingrained.
For example, if you are starting an exercise routine, put on your exercise shoes for two minutes the first day. Continue the two-minute shoe routine daily until there is minimal resistance to the habit, then walk down the road for two minutes. When the walk routine becomes mentally easy, add on another two minutes, and so on. The idea is to minimize the mental chatter. Continuing to build a routine will make habits easier, like the daily mindless habit of brushing your teeth.
Create an identity around your new habit.
Habits stick better when you form an identity around them. It is easy to fall for the ads that promise thinner thighs or flatter abs by doing three exercises or eating certain foods. However, it is hard to continue those three exercises on days you are busy, stressed or tired. If you adhere to a plan that limits your food options, you can get bored with food prescribed or, worse yet, you don’t even like that food.
Focus on the identity of who you want to be instead of the number of pounds you want to lose or the miles you want to run. This will help you continue your success long after you’ve reached your number.
Your identity helps you maintain your goal even when temptation is in the way. If your identity is that you are a healthy person, a nonsmoker or a runner, then you tend to perform the actions and habits consistent with your identity. For example, you could say to yourself, “I am a healthy eater. What would a healthy person eat?” So, when you go to a birthday party, you eat a small piece of cake like a healthy person, instead of not eating the cake, feeling deprived and eating double what you would have the next day. A nonsmoker might not have cigarettes or lighters in the house. A runner might run or walk every day.
When is the best time to start your new habit? There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”
Talk to your primary care physician if you are ready to change your life.
