How To Make A Start With A New Habit
So you want to start a new habit? Me too! Here's how.
Today is about identifying (and tackling) the things we know are going to get in our way.
Here’s mine;
- Massive sweet tooth
- Spending too much time sat down
Identifying them won’t take you long. It’s normally pretty obvious, but you do have to be honest with yourself.
The Could do - Will do Exercise
When trying to change a habit I do an activity where I write down everything I could do to make a change. You should forget about whether the ideas you’re coming up with are good or not, and simply let your mind go and write down anything that comes to you.
Then review the list and circle the three things which you think are most likely to happen. Not necessarily the best but the ones that are possible. Of the three then pick just one to focus on.
Here’s my scribbles....
You can see I went for “pause before pudding” as I realised that I often ate something sweet due to habit when actually I didn’t really want something. Over the last few months I’ve been eating something sweet mindlessly after a meal, and not really enjoying it. By taking a pause I’ve not gone to the extremes of banning myself from having sweet things, or only eating them on set days but I’ve inserted a mindful break.
Today I want you to pick something you want to tackle and go through those steps
What could you do to change?
Of those, which three are most likely to happen?
Of those, which ONE are you going to action on?
I’d love to hear from you on what you’ve picked and what things you came up with!
And as for sitting down too much, there's no substitute for investing a small amount of time in a stretch and move sequence. Check out this sequence (it’s one of my favourites) and give one a go!
