Getting motivated to make healthy living changes can be a challenge at times. What you need is:
A selection of different sized goals
A clear idea of how all your goals contribute to the bigger picture of your life’s mission
Knowledge of the daily contributions required to achieve each of your goals
Acknowledgement of regular progress and success
Here are a few things to think about.
Are you more motivated by thinking about the short term or the long-term? Do you prefer so think and plan daily or monthly or annually? For example, are you excited by the idea of completing 2 workouts a week or would you prefer to think in terms of steadily working your way up to 100 exercise sessions in a year?
Do you prefer the thought of 31 days alcohol free for Dry January, or a regular routine of 1 or 2 or even more days off the booze each week?
Four coffees a day might not sound like the worst thing in the world but how about the idea of 120 a month? Or 1440 per year?
Maybe the number of coffees per day, month or year doesn’t mean that much to you. How about the financial benefits of specific lifestyle changes? For example, if you pay £2 for a coffee and you buy a couple a day, you’re in for a total of £1460 a year. Cutting back to one a day instantly puts £730 in your pocket
10,000 steps a day is a great target but doesn’t inspire everyone. If you prefer to think bigger, 10,000 steps a day, every day for a year, is the same as walking 63 marathons.
15 minutes of extra sleep each night might not sound like a lot but could add up to almost 6 months of extra sleep over the course of your working life.
Think about this for every area of healthy living:
Big picture: what are the greatest benefits of making changes?
Smaller details: what are the simplest daily habits I can form to achieve these benefits?
Very quickly you’ll develop new ways of thinking and acting.
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