February, 2025
As a Behavior Change Specialist, I often hear my clients, family and friends say they feel stuck in an unhealthy behavior or habit. They are frustrated, discouraged and don’t know how to get unstuck. They just want to breakthrough and move forward,
How do you get unstuck, break free from old patterns and create new and lasting health habits?
Perspective
Lasting behavior change is a journey. A life-long one. It is personal because it is YOUR journey.
One very powerful way to move forward in any goal is perspective.
What is your “WHY” for a particular goal or habit? Why is it relevant to you?
Take time to recognize whether this goal holds any merit for you or is it more important to someone else in your life. For example, your doctor may want you to exercise more often to work your heart. Are exercise sessions a few times a week relevant to you? If not, you are less likely to invest in this goal primarily because it is your doctor’s recommendation for you and not your own. Perhaps you want to start walking several times a week to work your heart and reduce your risk of heart disease. Your “WHY” may be because your mother has heart disease and it is important to you to minimize your risk. This is a new health habit that personally touches your life. Since this goal has significance for you, you are more apt to stick with your walking program.
Realistic Goals
Is your health goal too big? Is it achievable in the next few weeks?
If the health change you have in mind is too large (Think the old adage, “How do you eat an elephant…”), it is dificult to see the finish line. A weight loss goal can be too lofty. You may feel overwhelmed and feel discouraged by your slow progress. Often this discouragement can lead to getting “stuck”, veering off course or feeling paralyzed in making any change.
Reframe your thinking. Think smaller, achievable mini goals. These smaller steps when added together will propel you toward your long-term goal AND you get to celebrate your victories more often. SCORE!
Truth or False Beliefs
Is your past holding you captive?
Taking time to consider HOW you think and WHY you think what you do is key.
Is your WHY based on truth or on false beliefs?
Exploring your HOW and WHY are worth exploring. Recognizing what you think about yourself, where these beliefs come from and how they impact the decisions you make is paramount to lasting behavior change.
Think back to your childhood. What if you were told somewhere along the way that you weren’t good at sports. Perhaps you had a growth spurt and were still getting your “sea legs”. So maybe you were a bit uncoordinated at that time. Maybe you were tired that day. At that point you had a choice: Believe that you weren’t good at sports or believe that you would and could get better at soccer, tennis, running… as you grew into your rapidly growing body. The beliefs about yourself have impacted your thoughts, emotions and decisions with consequences as a result.
Choices
How does this relate to choices you make regarding your health?
Whether you are aware of it or not, if you believe you can’t do something, you probably won’t. Imagine you are running a 10K and you are about a mile away from completing the race. Be aware of your thoughts. If you start to think, “I can’t finish the race, I am too slow, too tired, haven’t prepared enough…”, you probably will stop before the finish line. If you have prepared well for the race, you can reframe your thoughts and embrace how far you have come during your training. Recognizing, living and speaking the truth allows you to redirect, shift your mind and complete your health goal well.
To Overcome and Break Free
Let’s collaborate together to reframe your thinking, find freedom and celebrate your health goal victories!
To receive the FREE “Top 5 Steps to Get Unstuck & Move Forward” Guide: Home | HealthStarts2Day and scroll down to “Let’s Connect”!
To find out more about the life-changing virtual sessions: “Overcome and Break Free” Course | HealthStarts2Day
Copyright HealthStarts2Day 02/28/25
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