In order to start a new behavior, it is important to first evaluate your motivation for doing it and your ability to do it. When it comes to our health, many of us are highly motivated. The struggle comes with trust and confidence in our ability to take that first step. It doesn’t help that your level of motivation can also change over time.
In order to truly create a long-term lifestyle change, you need to figure out how to think beyond your motivation. You can do this by breaking it down into small steps that are not too far outside your current ability to achieve.
To help you do this, follow these steps:
- Be clear on the outcome you want to achieve by making a change.
- Make a list of which behavior changes would help you to achieve that outcome.
- Choose one starting behavior that you feel you CAN do and that you WANT to do.
- Outline the specific (small) action steps you will need to do in order to perform the behavior and get started.
What is your primary health goal for 2021? How can you break it down into smaller steps so that it can become a sustainable part of your daily life?
To really solidify a new behavior, you need a consistent prompt or anchor to attach it to. Next week, we’ll discuss what that might look like.
