The Secret to Sticking to Healthy Habits

Do you have a laundry list of healthy habits you wish you could stick to? Have you tried keeping a gratitude journal but only written in it once and then forgot about it? Vowed to drink 3 litres of water a day but totally failed. Said you were going to exercise 5 times a week only to go twice, feel discouraged, and say, "fuck it"? We've all been there. So, I wanted to share with you something I've learned that's now my best tip for sticking to those habits and truly making them part of your daily routine.  

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY

Start small. I know that's pretty vague so let me explain.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you finally decide you’re going to get your shit together and improve every area of your life? Sure you have. First you decide you’re going to start working out 5 times a week and then you decide you’re going to eat healthier too. Those two usually go together.

But then you think, “I should really get better at flossing my teeth. I’m gonna do that every day too starting tomorrow.”

And then you remember that you really need to stop falling asleep with your makeup on so you promise to wash your face every morning and every night.

And then you think of that YouTube video you saw on gut health and decide to finally start taking your probiotics every morning instead of just once a month when you randomly remember to do it.

And then you’re reminded of the whole lemon-water-first-thing-in-the-morning thing, so why not just do that too.

So then you think, “If I’m going to be doing all this other good stuff I should just commit to waking up 20 minutes earlier and doing a little yoga. I can totally do that, it’s only 20 minutes.”

“And I should make the bed. I think I read somewhere that making your bed can make you more productive. I should start doing that. And I should try to read more, reading is so good for you. I’m gonna find a good book and read for 30 minutes before bed every night. That’s way better than scrolling on my phone. And I'm going to start going to bed earlier and sleeping better. Oh my gosh, okay, this is going to be amazing! I’m going to be amazing. LETS DO THIS.”  

But what happens after that usually isn’t some monumental life transformation. Usually the next day or week rolls around and you’re too tired or you forget to get up early to exfoliate, do yoga, drink lemon water, floss your teeth, go to the gym, make a smoothie and save the world. It’s just too much.

I’m not saying that doing all of those things is impossible, but if they’re all NEW habits attempting to bring them into your daily life all at once will never work. It’s hard enough trying to create one new healthy habit, because you have to be consistent and do it every day for nearly a month before it’s truly engrained in your body and mind as being habitual. So trying to do that with 5, 10, or 15 new things simultaneously is just unrealistic. And when you can’t do the million things you’ve committed yourself to doing, it feels like failure. And that ain’t fun.

FORM YOUR HABITS ONE BY ONE

So here's what I mean when I say start small. Pick one healthy habit and implement it into your routine this month. Try your best to do it every day (or however many days you’ve decided is realistic for you) and don’t beat yourself up when you miss a day. You’re going to miss a day. It’s inevitable. When the month is over hopefully that new behavior feels like a real habit now, something you’re used to doing without having to think too much about. If it does, add another one into the mix! And if it doesn’t, don’t. No stress. Just stick with it until it feels natural and then choose the next habit on your list that you want to take up. Little by little, slow and steady.  

Doing one new thing instead of 10 all at once seems way easier right? Wrong. It’s actually a lot harder than it seems, because going slow is frustrating. Slow progress towards any goal is like torture to most of us, we just want to go FAST. We want to have it NOW. When we decide that we want to become better, healthier, happier, or more successful our minds fool us into thinking we need to make it happen right away in order for it to count. We live in a world of instant-gratification, so it's only natural for you to feel like you have to check all the boxes at once. “Just get organized, buckle down, and tackle it all at once, you can do this! The new you, starting tomorrow.” But that’s just not the way we’re wired to perform.

Habits aren’t formed in a day. They take time, effort and consistency, so part of building the better version of yourself that you so desperately want to become is accepting the fact that it's not going to happen overnight. Begin the journey knowing that you may not see results or accomplish everything on the list tomorrow, but that if you stick with it you might see something in a few weeks, certainly in a few months, and eventually you will get there 100%.

YOU'VE GOTTA START SOMEWHERE

You can do all the things. You can. Just maybe not all on Day 1. But don’t lose sight of the fact that Day 1 is the most important day of them all because that’s where it all begins. So, if you’re wanting to create healthier habits and become a better version of yourself this is what you need to do:

First, get clear on what that looks like. Paint the vision. Make a list of all the things you can do, big and small, to become the best version of yourself. Now look at the list (it might be pretty long so try not to panic) and just pick one. One daily action that you can start doing tomorrow. Write it down on a separate piece of paper and keep it somewhere you can see it - on your nightstand, as your bookmark, taped to your mirror, hung up on your fridge - somewhere in plain sight. Hide the original long list in a safe place where you can come back to it next month but where it’s currently out of sight and not clouding your mind. You don't want to be distracted or overwhelmed by the other things on the list, you just want to focus on the first task by itself. 

The final and most important step is to just start. Don't wait until next week, or the New Year, or Monday morning. Every day is the right day to be better, so get rid of all your excuses about not having time or not being ready. Wake up each day and commit to making time for your new healthy habit. If you fall off for a few days, just pick it back up again. Keep going until it becomes part of your normal day, until you don't have to consciously remind yourself to do it.

Go ahead, just start. You got this.