Life is a balance of responsibilities and priorities made by a sequence of daily choices. Some choices you have more control of consciously, such as making a decision to not walk your dog when it’s raining outside, while others are a bit more “autopilot,” for example making coffee every morning at the same time and never questioning it.
These choices determine the path of a given day and for most of us, we’re living in autopilot. We have a set routine that is carried out similarly each day. We wake up, turn the coffee on, pack our lunch, and head out the door to try and beat the rush hour traffic on our way to make a living. But let’s take a step back, there is nothing wrong with living in routine especially if those habits are constructive and beneficial to your lifestyle. It’s less stressful when we don’t have to think. However, there are many habits that have weeded their way into our lives that can be destructive if they’re hurting you or others around you. These can be more simply understood habits such as smoking and overeating to habits a bit more complex such as the inability to emotionally regulate how you respond when you are stressed.
These habits script our lives and frame our identity. You go to work because you value providing a living for your family and see yourself as someone who puts in an honest day’s work. You go to sleep early because you want to wake up early and feel refreshed so that you can be at your best the following day.
But what if you’re trying to develop a new habit that isn’t part of your day or identity? For example, you want to start working out and eating better because you want to be able to play with your kids and without getting out of breath so easily. You want to be that “in-shape” parent. Or maybe your doctor mentioned how you’re pre-diabetic and need to start doing some more exercise to reduce your risk of diabetes.
Well here’s the secret… the best way to start a new habit is to, you guessed it, start now. Keeping it focused on physical health for simplicity, this could be in the form of exercise or eating. Maybe it’s adding a 10 minute walk to the end of your day once you’re home from work. Maybe it’s swapping out the soda for zero- calorie seltzer or diet soda. Maybe it’s doing 10 push-ups when you wake up. Maybe it’s adding a serving of veggies to your dinner.
You’ll notice the examples I provided aren’t crazy, they’re not complicated, and they don’t remove anything. It’s just about adding something subtle to help you get started. The hardest part is just getting started. And if you try to make a change that’s too big for your current situation, you’ll struggle to find the time, overanalyze the process, and begin to wonder if there’s truly a return on your investment. But if you start small, you’ll be able to steadily allow that new action to settle into your lifestyle to become a habit and habits are how we change and improve our identities.
I’ll be over here rooting for ya! So feel free to leave a comment or email me to chat more. I’d love to see how I can help you out.
-Phil
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Catalyst Fitness and Wellness Founder
