Start small, start now, tell a friend, don’t give up.
If you are trying to make a lifestyle change, you know that it can sometimes feel like a monumental challenge. If you have a goal in mind that may, on some days, seem impossible to reach it can be tempting to just give up on the whole thing and let everything stay the way it is. I’m here to tell you that changing your life can be easier than you think. If you can remember to follow a few simple rules, and follow them even when you don’t want to (which is, in fact, the time we need to follow them the most), then before you know it you’ll be closer and closer to your success every day.
The first rule is: Start Small
Start where you are today. This may sound like some of the typical clichés that are floating around, but the truth is they are floating around for a reason. Set your goal, name your desire and then set it aside. Next figure out what small thing you can do today that will get you closer. Why start small instead of jumping into the whole enchilada? Change requires several things to happen; it is more than just a matter of willpower. If you want to create lasting and sustainable change it has to involve changing your brain patterning. To change your brain patterning you need to stick to something long enough for it to become a new neural pathway. Rather than blasting your brain and body with huge changes, it is easier for your ego and your spirit to inch your way into the new you.
The second rule is: Start Now
“Don’t put off what you can do today until tomorrow”. Yes, again we find another cliché and yet such a perfect one. Start today. Don’t let your ego talk you out of it. If you are telling yourself that you’re not quite ready, start anyway. The truth is if we wait to start something until we are a hundred percent ready to start, chances are we will never start it. So, just do it, take that small step whatever it is, today, right now. Don’t worry about tomorrow, don’t worry about next week. And then, do the same thing again tomorrow.
Rule three: Tell a Friend
Tell a friend, a family member, your therapist, anyone whom you feel comfortable with. Don’t ask them for advice, don’t ask them to help you, just tell them about your goal and your plan. Why is this important? The more you say something outside of your own head the more you condition yourself for it to be your reality. Make sure you are stating your goals in the affirmative.
Rule four: Don’t Give Up!
A meditation teacher once told me, the time that I least want to meditate is the time that I most need to do it. I have found that this is true for just about everything when you are trying to make changes in your life. Feeling resistance to something can be a signal that you are close to making a breakthrough. Part of making lasting change is learning how to establish self discernment. In other words, learning how to gently keep yourself on track with small, consistent steps. This is why the rules that come before this one are so important. They will help you stick to your plan. Research demonstrates that it takes 10 weeks of a consistent activity to forge a new neural pathway. Just 10 weeks of doing one small thing on a daily basis will create lasting change.
If you’d like to know more about these tips or have questions about how to begin this will be our topic of discussion March 26th at 9am on Bod*ecology, The Art and Science of WholeBody Health. Gather your questions and tune in! Until then, Live well!