I'm no different from you, by the way. After all, I'm only human, and yes, I too have habits that I find hard to let go of. A relapse is practically built in.
But why wait until the new year to change something? You can start finding your way to a healthy lifestyle on any of the 365 days of the year.
Whether it's a more balanced diet, the wish to move more, or more time for rest and recovery in your everyday life:
There is no right time to change something. Just begin!
Only once you have dared to take the step, decided you want to change something and put it into practice, will you notice that it is much easier than you had assumed.
“I no longer put things off. When I simply started, with no plan B, I brought about the biggest changes in my life.”
Anne Krenzin
From Theory to Practice
To make your path to a healthy lifestyle a little easier, here are a few tips for you:
Understand your habits.
Before you begin, try to understand where your habits come from and why you have had them for so long. Only if you get to the root of the cause first will you be able to change them for good.
Give yourself time for change and don't rush it.
Change takes time. Remember: you want to change habits that you may have carried with you for years or even decades. A change in behavior like that doesn't happen overnight. It is a process, and a process needs time.
Don't change everything at once.
If you want to change several aspects of your life, don't tackle them all at the same time. Proceed step by step, and only move on to the next one once you have successfully established the first change in your life.
Accept setbacks.
Allow yourself days when the change doesn't go as well or as quickly as you had planned. There will always be moments when you weaken and fall back into old patterns of behavior. That's okay, and it's allowed to happen. You just must not surrender on those days and throw all your goals overboard. Accept them for what they are, namely small stumbling blocks, and simply carry on the next day.
Always remember: the path to a healthy lifestyle doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes it is made up of nothing more than small steps. You can't simply flip a switch and have everything be different from how it ever was before. So be gentle with yourself and take the time you need.
But most importantly: just begin!
Helpful Ways to Stay on Track
Visualize your goals
When you see your goals in black and white every day, you won't lose sight of them. A vision board, for example, can be a useful tool.
Don't set your goals too high
If you set yourself many small milestones, it becomes easier to keep going. Reaching a big goal takes time, and it's easy to lose your way on the road there.
Make plans for stumbling blocks
For difficult phases, planned "if-then strategies" are helpful. Especially when you're stressed and can't think clearly, they help you refocus.
