Living a healthy lifestyle can be difficult. You’re trying to create all of these new, positive behaviours while still managing to meet all of your current obligations to your family, home, and work. How do you make them balance so you can become more fit without driving yourself crazy in the process?
Take Small Steps
While it is truly noble to want to rush in and change every aspect of your life at once in the name of health, this type of approach will likely blow up in your face. To make changes that last for results that stay, you’re better off taking smaller steps and focusing on one area at a time. You’ll get there eventually, but don’t worry about getting there in record time.
Plan, But Don’t
You certainly want an idea of how you plan to keep all of the healthy areas of your life afloat during daily living, but don’t be so rigid that you aren’t flexible when things pop up – which they will. Make a guideline to lead your way, but allow for detours when they present themselves.
Try Doing ‘Two-fers’
What this means is that you will achieve greater success if you choose to engage in behaviours that satisfy two or more healthy needs at the same time. For instance, you could mix diet and exercise by walking to your favourite low-calorie lunch place or you could make eating a sweet treat conditional upon whether you got your exercise routine in the day before.
Change Your Definition of Perfection
If you strive to be 100% perfect all of the time, you’re less likely to live a healthy life because you’re setting an almost impossible goal. However, if your new definition of perfection means meeting your goals 80% of the time, you’ll have a greater chance of success because it is more realistic.
Try these four things and keep your life in balance. Really, is there any other way?
