On New Year’s Eve I was hanging out with some of my dearest friends and family.
The topic of New Year’s Resolutions kept coming up.
I heard a LOT of very ambitious plans such as, “Eat better, workout regularly, and meditate.”
Although these are all wonderful things to strive toward, the probability of someone actually making all of those changes in one year and for those changes to become long-term habits is probably very, very, sadly low.
I announced to the group that my new habit is going to be to meditate for 5 minutes a day.
For those of you that read my blog post, “Why I Quit Trying to Meditate”, you will know that I have struggled to create a regular habit of this highly beneficial practice into my life for many years.
So you may not be surprised to read that I am aiming low.
And for those of you that know me, even just through reading blog posts, you’ll probably know that I am always advocating for making change slowly and gradually.
This is a perfect example of how to start a new habit.
Like, for real.
Rather than listing the 18 things that you are going to start or stop doing and then ending up doing none of them, how about committing to doing just one, itty-bitty, tiny thing?
I know, when you make such small changes it Takes. So. Long!
But hey, would you rather make tiny, incremental, almost imperceptible change that will build up over time to a pile of healthy habits OR make a bunch of drastic changes all at once only to stop all of them a month later?
You tell me.
What has been your history?
How has trying to make drastic changes in your lifestyle habits all at once worked for you?
I’m sure there are a few outliers that have been successful with this approach.
But in my experience working in nutrition and lifestyle changes for the past 10 years I have found that most people do much better when they change gradually.
So, what is your itty-bitty new thing you are going to start doing this year?
The prize goes for the most realistic, easy, doable new healthy habit!
If you are ready to embark on a journey of piling up health habits slowly but surely, and thereby transforming your life, but you need support, I invite you to join me on a strategy call.