Why You Might Be Struggling To Sustain Healthier Habits (Hint: It’s Not Lack of Willpower)
It’s already mid-February. We’ve reached right about the point where you might be having trouble keeping up with your new year’s resolution. Does that resonate with you?
This is actually quite common: studies show that most new year’s resolutions that are set to start in January die out at latest by March (note, I say most. Don’t come for me for being the exception).
By this point you’re wondering why you set the goal in the first place, or what kind of state of mind you were in when you set it (I was obviously out of my mind).
If this sounds like you, here are some reasons you’re struggling to maintain your resolutions:
You’re aiming for perfection instead of doing your best consistently
Doing your best is always good enough, always. Don’t let the idea of what things “should” be, or what you “should” be doing stop you from making any progress at all. Just show up.
You have only 20 minutes to exercise instead of the 60 minutes you had planned? Life happens, do it anyway!You don’t have systems in place to make reaching your goal easier/more accessible
If your goal is to drink water for example, just setting the goal doesn’t suffice. You have to decide on HOW to get there. Will you add some flavor to your water to make it more pleasant? Will you get a fun bottle/glass that will catch your attention? Will you set reminders on your phone/computer? It can be more than one, but it’s important to keep the ways that work best for you.
You’re being a jerk to yourself when trying to motivate yourself
Though telling yourself that you’re a piece of shit can be motivating long-term (because you feel like you want to rebel), what happens when you start to internalize those thoughts and you get depressed? Self-compassion is actually the way to stay motivated long term. This is, what I think, the biggest blind spot in the fitness industry today.
Wanna know how to apply self compassion? Click here.You’re not 100% sure about why the goal is important to you, or aren’t setting goals that are in line with YOUR values
Super important to make decisions that matter to YOU, and nobody else. Internal motivation is far stronger than external validation. If it’s not important to YOU, it is only a matter of time until you stop doing it.
You’re not breaking down your goals into small, reachable steps
Don’t get me wrong, big goals have a time and place, but it can seem too far away to keep motivation up when you’re having a bad day, which can cause you to abandon it.
For example, if your goal is to consistently drink 2 litres (2000 ml) of water a day but you currently drink 1 glass a day (250 ml), break it down into glasses. This week, you can start with 2-3 glasses a day (which is the double and then some of where you are now!). If you did it, great! If you did more, even better! Eventually we’ll build up to 3-4, then 5-6, then 7-8 glasses a day (that’s 2 litres already), it’ll be done seamlessly, and you’ll be able to maintain it.
You only see Monday or the 1st of the month as an opportunity to start fresh
I’d challenge you by seeing every day, every meal, or every quarter of the day as a fresh opportunity.
You’re not celebrating all the small wins
Every single milestone is worth celebrating, or at least ackowledging. You got 2 glasses a day of water in instead of the 1 you’re used to? Heck yes! Let’s keep going.
