4 effective strategies to change your life and become healthier

We all dream of a life in which we are fitter and more productive: we wake up earlier, eat healthier, exercise more often, and get more done throughout the day without suffering from chronic pain or poor health conditions. But few of you really live it.

You do everything you can to make that vision a reality: you go on diets, you adopt training plans, but after a short period of time you find yourself falling back into the same negative ruts.

Change is hard, and no matter how much you hate to admit it, you enjoy the comfort those old habits bring; you love how they don’t require any extra effort or energy. But then comes the guilt. You start to feel ashamed of the bad decisions you made. You lose hope and maybe even try to convince yourself that it’s too late for you and that you just aren’t cut out for the lifestyle you want. Old clothes are hard to kill.

How to overcome that? It all starts in your head. Rewiring your brain to shift focus from hating negative patterns to developing new healthy ones is the best way to make a drastic change. In order to have a healthy lifestyle, you must first develop the right mindset for it.

Luckily, we’ve put together 4 strategies for you today that will teach you exactly how to master your thinking and make a change that lasts forever.

1. Slow, but steady. Start small, REALLY small. Fair. Get. Began. The effect of taking small steps will compound and make you take bigger steps. Be disciplined and stay determined. Don’t wait for motivation to knock on your door. Do it anyway, even on days you don’t feel like it. And what is one of the best ways to get moving? That’s following the 5 second rule:

“If you have the impulse to act on a goal, you must physically move in 5 seconds or your brain will kill the idea (…) Because when you physically move, your brain begins to build new habits (…) they are in the act to build new habits and erase existing ones. »

This rule, established by author and motivational speaker Mel Robbins, is a form of metacognition that allows you to overcome the tricks your brain plays to distract you by activating your prefrontal cortex. Neuroscientist and Yale University researcher Amy Arnsten explains that the 5-4-3-2-1-Go! countdown activates that area of ​​the brain responsible for planning and decision-making. It is also important that you set long-term goals. These goals will help you create sustainable clothing. Motivation will come when the changes become more and more noticeable.

2. Understand how habits work. Habits are formed through a series of very simple but very strong actions, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg calls: The Loop. In his book The Power of Habit, he says:

“First, there is a signal, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and what habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical, mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain determine if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future. Over time, this loop becomes more and more automatic. The cue and the reward are intertwined until a powerful feeling of anticipation and desire arises. »

This means that if you want to change your habits, you have to follow the same rules that made them. First, start by identifying the negative habits you have. Identify the trigger behind them, the behavior that follows, and the reward you feel. Then try to implement a healthy behavior that you give the same trigger and reward to. Remind yourself of the reward more often and repeat this cycle until the old habit is erased and the healthy one becomes entrenched in your routine. And lastly, be patient. Keep in mind that forming a new habit takes 66 days on average according to a University College study (London, 2000).

3. Track your progress, however small. Keep an eye on the progress you are making. Use a calendar and mark the days that you follow healthy habits, this trick will not only inform you about the days that you are making progress, it will also motivate you not to break the chain. But in case you miss a day where you don’t do the healthy habit, don’t give up. Missing a day will have no effect on your long-term results.

4. Enjoy the process. We all know change is hard, but if you reward and celebrate every small victory, you’re more likely to maintain a healthy behavior. Recognize your achievements and find happiness in the healthy lifestyle you now lead, as it is the best way to make it last forever. And remember, it’s never too late to live the life you want!