When taking on a new challenge, you have to be consistent. You have to show up when you are supposed and do what you are meant to do. This is when it's important to remember "WHY" you are doing it. And sometimes doing it for others helps you push harder than when you just think about it for yourself. It's sad, but true. So, if you are trying to get healthier, is one of the reasons to be there for your children? To be strong and present as much as you can for as long as you can? Then remember them when you feel like bailing on your new routine. Do it for your loved ones! (In the picture above I was holding Tucker because as much as she loves boat rides, this one got a little rocky and made her feel a bit uneasy. And me? Boat hair, I don't care!)
This is when habits makes your new commitment to yourself a little easier. Come up with a new schedule around your new undertaking and keep to it. It will be hard at first. Everything new is hard at first. Until it isn't. Until it becomes a habit and then it's as easy as brushing your teeth every morning. It's automatic. If you want to work out first thing every morning, then start today and commit to doing it everyday with a pre-planned workout ready to go. It's the same with meditation or starting a new project. Or being more present for your kids. Set aside a time everyday that you commit to them and doing whatever they want to do. Or gardening. It's spring. Get out there and start learning how to grow what you would like to see blooming in a few months. (I'm always taking advice on tomatoes!) Or starting that new business. Or taking classes to pursue something you've never done before.
The possibilities are endless and so are the ways you can build these new habits into your life. Stay committed to the process. Which is why it is important to know when is the best time to do these new undertakings. Make it a time when you will be the least likely to resist. Be it first thing in the morning or right after work. Maybe it's later when the kids are in bed. You know when you can be in the zone so make sure you are implementing your new habits then.
I've been pretty on and off when it comes to working out. Then last week I recommitted to working out three times a week. I did it last week. Okay, okay..I did skip Friday last week but that was because Joe was home so it was his fault not mine. But I did get all three in this week, including Friday. And you know what was great about this week compared to last? Since I didn't get my workout in on Friday I promised myself I would do it on Saturday. And I didn't so I felt disappointed in myself again, just like when I let myself down on Friday. And Sunday? Yep, you guessed it. I let myself down yet again. This week though, there was no guilt whatsoever. I have chosen to work out on Monday's, Wednesdays and Fridays. If I try to commit to more than that I will feel overwhelmed by taking on too much and quit altogether. I think three times a week is fine. And I know I usually crap out when I try to take on more. So I do what I know I am capable of handling. This is what you need to figure out if you haven't already. Taking on too much will just overwhelm you and defeat the whole purpose. Start out small and add more as you go.
We are talking about building new healthy, habits here and they are never easy even in the best case scenario. So take your time. We get so impatient, we want things to happen overnight, but it doesn't work that way. A little at a time. Three months from now you will have a set of new amazing habits and that really isn't that long from now. So start now. I don't want to be in July and saying, if I would have just started when Wendy said, I would be so far ahead by now. Stay committed to your cause! Again, if you not for you...then for someone who loves you and wants you at your best! I just finished Jessica Simpson's "Open Book" and I told you how impressed I was with it. At the end she writes; "You need to nurture your dream the way you would a best friend or a child". Keep this in mind when the going gets tough. We all have to be kinder to ourselves. Give ourselves a little grace and keep moving.
How committed are you to the action you vowed to take yesterday? Did you get up today and say, I don't feel like it...maybe tomorrow. ME TOO! I do that everyday. We almost never feel like it. But we do it anyway because we are committed to our cause. That is why it is written on my bathroom mirror that working out on M, W, and F is a non-negotiable. I don't get to talk myself out of it for any reason. Figure out a way to keep the commitment you are making to yourself. And your word to yourself counts. I'll talk more about that later. Now, go make today...your best day yet!
Comments