Habit Changing 101

We live in a world of instant fixes.

Extreme Makeovers, for our homes, bodies and cars.

We want the magic pill, and we want it now.

The problem with being addicted to black and white thinking and extreme solutions, is that in our quest for every thing, we forget that the little things matter.

Tiny Tweaks to your routine can make a HUGE difference in your life.

Simple Steps that make changes last:

1. The change you want to make has to matter to you in “The Big Picture” -You need to see how this habit will affect something that means a lot to you – If you look into the future, you can imagine yourself feeling better, happier, with more vibrant health, strength, and energy as a result from doing this simple step.

You can boost your confidence that it will make a difference in a number of ways:

•  Think about your past experiences, and if this habit was  part of your life at some point, and how it helped you feel better in a meaningful way.

• Check for research and data that tells you that this is a habit worth trying.

• This habit may have been recommended by a trusted source, a dear friend,  or an expert in the field of health and wellness.

2. The change you are making must feel doable.  You need to look at the habit you want to start, and say “I can do that”.  There are two important ways to make it doable:

• The “big picture” reason has to come from you – don’t try to start doing something you hate.  Just because you heard that fruit is really good for you, doesn’t mean you have to force-feed yourself apples. Try vegetables instead. Or squeeze a lemon into your water, (you still get the vitamin C!)  If your new habit has a feeling of “should” or “supposed to”- let it go- you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.
• Make your habit very, very small.  Break the big end-goal habit into a bite-size chunk, and schedule it into your week.  Take it one week at a time, and you’ll start to notice the little piece is part of your daily routine.  You can then add on to it.

3.  Connect your Tiny Tweak to something that is already part of your routine.  Even the most creative, spontaneous, free-spirited people I’ve worked with have routines.  They do some things the same every day.

What habit do you have right now that you could connect your new habit to?

Bonus step: Look at your week ahead, and figure out where you will put your habit into your schedule.  At the end of the week, look back at what happened, and see if that habit fit where you thought it would.  Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t. Either way, you get to tweak your tiny habit until it becomes part of your big, beautiful life.