Healthy behaviors are easy to maintain initially, but how do you keep yourself motivated beyond day number one? What can you do to ensure that you actually change your lifestyle for good?
Even though most healthy behaviors are pretty simple to do (such as eating nutritious foods and getting physical activity most days of the week), they’re also simple to not do. So, it doesn’t matter how strong your willpower is when you first begin taking the steps to a healthy lifestyle, making permanent changes takes some work.
If you want to increase the likelihood that your healthy behaviors stick, you need to not only focus on the behavior itself, but on the mindset behind it. When you aren’t absolutely in love with the idea of getting your body in optimal shape, it can be very hard to sustain the actions necessary to do so.
Therefore, instead of concentrating on the negatives of change, you’ll find that looking at the positives will help your new behaviors become habit more easily and more quickly. You’ll want to do them because of the many rewards they offer you as opposed to dreading them because of the amount of work involved.
For example, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds, don’t focus on everything you’re “giving up,” such as daily fast food meals and weekend couch fests. Instead, keep the benefits of losing weight in the forefront of your mind. Think of all the energy you’ll have once you reach your goal. Remind yourself about how much more confidence you’ll have and imagine getting off of some (or all) of your current medications.
When you make a journey pleasant, you’re more likely to stay on the path. So, think of all the ways that your life will change for the good and you’ve got a great start!
