Habits are the makeup of our daily lives, they shape our actions and ultimately create our outcomes (desired or not). Our daily habits, such as breakfast choices, bedtime routine or exercising in the morning, play a crucial role in reaching of our long term health and wellness goals. Most of my clients come to my practice with a specific areas of health or a long term dream and vision on what their end goal is, however, establishing specific goals that translate into sustainable habits and actions that lead towards that goal and reach success can be a challenge.
If you are curious as to how to get started and change your life one habit at a time (or many a few) you need to do some visualization to identify your vision or long term goal, then break down the steps to get there through habits and actions. This is the way that you can initiate change and establish a plan that will support your vision and give you long term results.
Step 1: Set A Clear Goal – Once you know the end goal, it will be easier to identify the habit(s) that you want to cultivate and that will support that goal. Many of my clients have an area of focus from the pillars of health and wellness; while some want to focus on establishing an exercise routine or make some changes related to diet and nutrition, others want to improve sleep or learn how to manage stress. Some examples of an end goal could be “I want to lose weight”, “I want to exercise daily”, “I want to eat more vegetables” to name a few.
Step 2: Identify the Habits that support your Goal – This involves being a bit more specific on what behavior you wish to cultivate. Do you want to exercise more? Eat more vegetables? Have a consistent self-care routine? Meditate consistently? Think about the goal and then define the habits/steps needed to take in order to reach that habit.
For example, instead of saying “I want to drink more water”, reframe that to make it more specific to state something like “I will drink 8 glasses of water every day by 6pm”; “I want to exercise more” to something like “I will walk for 30 minutes every afternoon during my lunch break”; “I want to eat more vegetables” to “I will eat one cup of vegetables at every meal”.
Step 3: Break down the habits into small steps – By breaking things down into smaller milestones and preferably activities that won’t take more than 10-15 minutes, will help you track progress and will serve as encouragement to continue as you celebrate those small wins. When embarking on habit formation, starting small increases your chances for success. For example, if your goal is to drink more water and your habit is to drink 8 glasses of water a day, start by increasing water intake by a glass a day each day or even a glass per week. Similarly, if your goal is to walk for 30 minutes 5 days a week, you can set a goal of 5 or 10 minutes a day and increase periodically every week or start with 30 minutes once a week and increase every week.
Step 4: Create a Routine – Consistency is key to habit formation. Establish a routine that incorporates your desired habit into your daily life. Setting up an alarm on the phone, blocking your calendar are examples of creating environmental cues to remind you of your habit. Habits become permanent part of your routine when they become automatic and this makes it easier to maintain your habit in the long term.
Step 5: Monitor Progress and Adjust Accordingly – I suggest to track your progress at least weekly and adjust your approach as needed. If you encounter obstacles or setbacks, don’t be discouraged, it may take some time to find the right design for our habits before they become automatic. Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved, then make the necessary adjustments to continue moving forward. Maybe walking during lunch seems unsustainable and you always get pulled into last minute meetings and mornings are better; or maybe early evening is best. Always be true to your bio individuality and adjust based on your life structure and personal obligations.
Step 6: Stay Committed and Be Patient – Reaching your health and wellness goes and habit formation is a journey, not a destination. Stay committed and be patient with yourself as you navigate the ups and downs of behavior change. Remember that setbacks are a natural part of the process, and perseverance is key to long-term success. Remember that your end goal can change and so can the steps you take to reach that goal; if an approach does not work, take a step back and find how you can adjust.
Making a habit is a process that requires commitment, patience and self awareness. Hopefully these steps will help you cultivate habits that support your overall well-being. Embrace the journey and watch how small actions are the best way to lead to the most significant transformations in your life in a sustainable way.
If you want to start building habits that support your wellness vision and want the support of a health coach, check my offerings page – https://jennypena.com/current-service-offerings/ or schedule a free discovery call to chat.
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