Transform Your Life With 4 Small Steps

healthy lifestyle mental health self care Oct 30, 2024

Small Wins Make All the Difference

There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt, former US president

 

Slow but Sure
Just like our cute three-toed sloth pictured here, we can all achieve a healthier lifestyle and achieve our goals if we take it slow and keep moving forward. (And, yeah, we are totally not above using cute photos to draw you in.)


⚡︎ Essential Edge: "You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." – Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Where We Get Stuck
Have you ever started strong on a new health routine and then dropped off due to frustration? You’re not alone. When we examine the challenges that face us when trying to improve our health and well-being, the greatest hurdles are often a lack of consistency and vague goals.

 

Many adults have doubts and fears about sticking to an exercise program, signing up for a gym membership, or committing to a nutrition plan. In some cases, these concerns are valid, but in most instances, creating a pattern of small, attainable wins would help immensely.

 

Unfortunately, the changes often feel too hard, so our brain invents a plethora of justifications for not even trying. Yet those excuses don’t get to the root of why we so often lack consistency when it comes to making healthy choices in our lives. The true causes are from two often-unrealistic assumptions:

  1. Assuming that the actions ahead will be too challenging or difficult to complete
  2. Assuming that, once started, these actions will achieve immediate major results

 

Making these healthy changes can feel like an uphill battle, and many of us find ourselves stuck at the starting line. Often, this paralysis stems from unrealistic expectations about the process. We envision instant transformations or overnight success, only to become disheartened when reality doesn’t match our idealized outcomes.

 

Additionally, fear plays a significant role—fear of the effort it will take, fear of failure, and even fear of change itself. This combination can create a mental block that prevents us from taking those crucial first steps.

 

Plan Big, Win Small
The most important piece to building new skills and seeing progress is consistent practice. No one becomes proficient at a field of study, hobby, skill set, or knowledge set without consistently applying themselves to the tasks of that craft. The same applies to creating good health.

 

One amazing fact about your brain is that it can quickly adapt to reward new actions and see them as stimulators of happiness. You can stack small wins to make change enjoyable, but this takes planning so you can stay in the game long enough to build the skills you need.

 

Here are 4 quick steps you can accomplish tomorrow to start winning small:

  1.  Plan two non-negotiables. What are two healthy actions that you can realistically complete tomorrow?
  2.  Identify two or three small wins to look for tomorrow. What are two or three actions that you know you can complete tomorrow and that you will feel good about accomplishing?
  3.  Start a daily win log. Sometimes noticing isn’t enough for our brains to hold on to. Daily journaling is an incredible mindfulness tool, and including daily wins in a journaling habit is a powerful add-on.
  4.  Celebrate small wins. You will see more of whatever you focus on ... the defeats, the struggles, or the wins. Do you remember getting stickers on your work in elementary school? What are your “gold stars” as an adult?

 

It only takes five minutes to start one of these steps. Then stack on another, then another. Every small step is a win you take toward your goals for a healthier, more serene, more mindful life. And that makes us all feel good, right?

 

Click here to learn more with Bryan Holyfield’s book Small Wins, Big Health: 10 Simple Hacks to Boost Fitness, Tame Stress, and Build a Healthier Version of You!

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