Habit starter pack
I'm a health and wellness coach, and I love my job. My favorite part is helping people move from feeling stuck and overwhelmed to getting into action. I help them understand the core components of establishing new habits and how to use consistency to create longevity. Just writing those words gets me excited! What can I say? I am a mindset and behavior modification junkie. 😂
There are several things that people forget when they are trying to establish new habits in their lives. For one, habits are a long game. We want it, and we want it now. When people come to me, they are sick and tired of how their lives are and want to change NOW. Some changes will appear immediately, but you must put in consistent effort over a long period to see sustainable results. You must work past the point when your motivation runs out and learn to be consistent even when things get tough. You have to fall in love with the process rather than the outcome.
Second, habits begin to peel back the patterns you have established over the years, like peeling back the layers of an onion. With each habit you work on, you begin to go deeper and deeper into your patterning. Some patterns will help you create the consistent and sustainable habits you desire, and some keep you stuck where you are. We learn to lean into our strengths and slowly undo the ones that don't serve us. Habits seem simple on the outside, but when you want sustainable changes and not quick fixes, prepare to go deep!
After years of working with clients, I have created a blueprint to help them reach their goals. Clients come to me with different starting points, but I repeatedly see these five main struggles. Hopefully, one of these will resonate with you and help you achieve the habits you've been craving.
Start with a vision. Don't worry; I'm not getting all woo-woo on you. 😂 A vision is simply a plan for what you want your life to look like. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? You wouldn't drive to an unknown location without having a way to map it out first. But when it comes to our habits, we know we want them - but we have no idea how our lives will look once we have them. Elite athletes use visualization to picture how their event will go before they start. They literally picture their entire race (or whatever they are preparing for) from start to finish. They even take note of how they feel when they accomplish their goal. When you have a clear vision of your life, you can determine the steps necessary to get you there. Start with a basic roadmap. Your vision will change continuously over time.
Pick one habit to work on. When you are ready to change your life, you are so sick of how things are that you want to change everything all at once. This creates a sense of overwhelm because you are trying to do too much at once. There are so many options; where do you even start? The answer is you don't. You end up staying stuck in overwhelm instead of getting into action. Prioritize one habit that feels the most approachable and will head you toward your big-picture vision. Don't get caught up in which one; they are all interconnected; you just need a starting point.
Take your one habit and break it down into its smallest parts. Now that we have one habit, we take it and figure out the smallest amount we can commit to to get into action. You want to be able to do this habit even on your worst day. This amount will be so small that you may laugh or think starting here is silly. If you don't think, "This is ridiculous to commit to; I know I can do this," it's not small enough yet. For example, let's say you want to start walking every day before dinner. You decide that 30 minutes seems like a reasonable goal. One day, you wake up late, rush to get yourself and your family ready, and out the door, and you are behind schedule for the rest of the day. You end up working late, getting home late, and having to throw dinner together and skip the walk because there aren't 30 minutes to find. This makes you feel bad about yourself. It messes with your head and your motivation. If your small commitment were 5 minutes instead of 30, it would be doable even on a day like this. The best part is that you can always do more, but you've created a goal that is possible every day.
Consistency is key! It's a whole lot easier to do a little bit every day than it is to do a lot on a few days. Consistency helps you build the confidence that you are the type of person with the habits you want in your life. When your confidence builds, you don't have to think about your habits as much. You know how your consistent habits make you feel, you stop relying on motivation (which wanes quickly), and over time, your habits become automated. It's like brushing your teeth: you don't have to think about it; you just do it.
Add on organically. One of the questions I get asked most often is, "When do I add more?" When you show up consistently, it will happen organically. If you walk every day for 5 minutes, you will notice that you want to do more. GO FOR IT! Just add on slowly. If you find doing more means you don't show up, you've added too much. Remember, we want to be able to show up on our worst day. This is going to take trial and error. Habits are a work in progress! What works for you initially will not necessarily work for you one year down the road. This is also the best part about starting small. You know that showing up even for 5 minutes means you are still showing up for yourself. This also gets us out of the all-or-nothing mindset that so often holds us back.
While there is more that goes into habit change, this is what I call my "habit starter pack." It will give you an excellent place to start and, better yet, find success.
Habits are simple, but they aren't easy. My superpower is helping people figure out a plan so they can show up consistently. If you've been stuck in overwhelm and spend more time thinking about changing than actually doing something about it, I've got two spaces open in December for my one-to-one coaching. Click the button below to set up a discovery call, and let's see if we're a good fit!