The self-help gurus like to tell us that getting just 1% better every day brings big changes over time.
As “Atomic Habits” author James Clear says, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”
Tiny improvements add up. See how much in just a year. Over your lifetime, you are the result of what you do consistently, even if it doesn’t seem like you’re advancing day to day.
So, how do you do it?
First, get your mindset wrapped around the idea. Too often, I meet people who want to get healthy RIGHT NOW.
- “I want to lose 20 pounds NOW”
- “I want to stop eating all junk food NOW”
- “I want to go to the gym every day NOW”
Well, if you’ve ever tried it, you know that just doesn’t work. It’s too much. You fail, feel miserable about yourself, and double-down on negative behavior.
So, try thinking like this instead.
- “I will add in breakfast each morning instead of grabbing fast food.”
- “I will add in a glass of water at the end of each meal.”
- “I will try to move my body meaningfully just about every day, slowly increasing length and intensity.”
I bet these sound more realistic – and more achievable. Don’t they?
You lower your expectations to INCREASE your results. As Clear says:
“If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.12 Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero. What starts as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something much more.”
Here are some practical tips from Psychology Today:
- It takes you 40 minutes to get ready for work. That’s 2400 seconds. A 1% improvement would be 24 seconds. You realize you could achieve that by keeping all your lunch-making supplies in the same cupboard, rather than needing to open three.
- You’re trying to curb overeating. You decide to permanently keep a 1/3-cup measure in your oatmeal container so that you can easily scoop that amount, without accidentally overdoing it. This is an example of doing something once and gaining the benefit repeatedly.
- You run on the treadmill at the gym with no incline. You decide to put the incline up one increment. This is an example of changing something repeatedly over time. It’s easier to create those that you need to set up just once, but these are positive, as well.
Maybe this all comes down to a proverb we were told as children: Slow and steady wins the race.
It’s still true!
“I know what to do… but I have a hard time staying consistent.”
When life gets crazy and responsibilities at home and work pile one on top of the other, it’s easy to let our health and fitness slip. The years go by and we don’t even realize how much our health has declined.
But for most of us, there comes a time when we realize things must change. A time when gaining control over our body takes on new urgency.
For some, it’s a scary health diagnosis. For others it’s watching a loved one struggle with their own health problems. And for others still, it’s when they finally realize they’ve spent so many years taking care of others, that they neglected to take care of themselves.
When it’s time to turn things around and start a new health and fitness program, however, it can be difficult to know what to do next. And staying motivated is hard — especially if you try to do it all on your own.
That’s where I come in.
My goal is to help you feel energetic and fabulous and stay that way. Starting now.
This is where Healing Inside Out Comes in. Follow the link to learn more..
