Do you want to finally feel comfortable in a bikini this summer? Or are you looking to become more present in your life by starting a meditation practice? Maybe you want to reduce your time spent scrolling social media or watching Netflix. Or do you dream of having financial freedom?
According to James Clear, in his #1 New York Times Bestseller, Atomic Habits, you can achieve anything you want in your life by getting 1% better every day. Tiny, incremental changes will get you huge results over time. Starting small is the key, so you don’t get overwhelmed and give up.
There are four steps to creating a healthy habit:
1. Make it specific
Set an implementation intention. For example, “I will use my Peloton for 30 minutes (behavior) at 6am tomorrow morning (time) in my office/workout room (location)”. Use habit stacking by pairing the new habit with something you already do. One of my clients does physio exercises every day. She now stacks on 15 minutes of yoga after her physio exercises.
2. Make it attractive
join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior like a gym or running club. Create a motivation ritual where you do something you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit. I do this by drinking my yummy cinnamon latte each morning directly before doing a few minutes of meditation.
3. Make it easy
Prime your environment. Try setting out your exercise clothes and shoes each night before you go to bed. This makes it easier to just get dressed and get your workout over with than to make up excuses. Start really small to help you stay motivated to keep going. For example, for someone new to exercise, start out by just wearing your exercise clothes for 30 minutes each day without working out. When you are ready, you can work up to moving your body for just 2 minutes each day and then gradually increasing the time.
4. Make it satisfying
Use positive reinforcement by giving yourself a reward immediately after doing a good habit, or stopping a bad habit. For example, put $5 in a savings account for your shopping fund whenever you abstain from having that extra glass of wine. Use a habit tracker. After trying many electronic habit trackers, I’ve settled on the old school approach of pencil and paper. I circle the date in light blue when I meditate, and I draw a pink heart in the date square of my calendar notebook. It is very satisfying seeing all the colorful circles and hearts accumulate each month.
What type of person do you want to become? A fit person? A financially wealthy person? A relaxed person? A tidy person? Whenever you have a decision to make about working out, saving $100, meditating, or cleaning up the kitchen right after dinner, ask yourself, “does this behavior help me become the type of person I wish to be?”
You are in charge of creating your desired identity and achieving your wildest dreams – one tiny step at a time.
Interested in finding out what coaching is like with me? Sign up for a free Clarity Call today!
Lots of love,
-Anna
