Face it – those new year resolutions are empty promises and gestures, similar to the year before, and the year before that.
Change is hard, but sticking to those changes is even harder. If you want those new healthy habits to stick this year and beyond, Wayne Scott Andersen, MD, cofounder of Optavia, and New York Times bestselling author, recommends four techniques to develop healthy habits that’ll actually last past that first month of the new year:
Walk before you run
The key to habit formation is performing the action or routine consistently over time, until you don’t even think about doing it as a part of your daily schedule, like brushing your teeth or showering (hopefully these are a part of your routine, anyway).
Therefore, start by making simple, small changes that don’t radically disrupt your day.
“Start with the simplest, easiest goal imaginable. Make the threshold for success so low that you can’t help but be successful, and begin to establish the habit through repetition first,” Dr. Andersen says.
More support, more success
Having people support and encourage you on your transformation makes it easier to stick to your objectives. Along with family and friends, Dr. Andersen says a workout partner, meal prep buddy, or if you can afford it, a personal trainer, coach, or registered dietitian, are excellent avenues of both support and knowledge.
Find your ‘why’
“In order to achieve a goal, we need both the why and the how. The why is, ‘why is this important to me? Why am I willing to experience this discomfort?’ The how is, ‘how am I going to achieve this goal? Who can help me?” says Dr. Andersen. He adds that we often fail because we usually only have one or the other.
Related: 3 Ways to Improve Your Eating Habits
Try the ‘Stop. Challenge. Choose’ approach
“One of the key elements of the ‘Stop. Challenge. Choose.’ [model] is finding ways to slow down and pay attention to where you are at that moment,” said Dr. Andersen.
Try this simple process as the first step in your journey to healthier habits:
Stop – Take a pause and diligently examine your surroundings and how you’re feeling in the moment.
Challenge – Think about why you’re considering a certain action, and if it’ll help you towards, or hinder, your goals. Is this where you want to be?
Choose – Choose the best action, hopefully with your health and well-being being the priority.
Using this simple process will position you for a healthier life, helping you rediscover what really matters to you.
Photo Credit: Okrasiuk/Shutterstock.com; marekuliasz/Shutterstock.com
