I often get asked ‘How do you make healthy habits stick?’ You inherently know that you need to keep doing those things over your lifetime to avoid disease and pain as you age. And you think when you finally get this down, then you’ll be really happy. But why is it so hard to do?
This is a common issue. Think of how many times you’ve lost weight only to gain it back. Or you worked out regularly for a while, then you got side-tracked and haven’t gotten back to it. Maybe you tried meditation or a class of some sort and went a few times, then just let it slide.
You’re not alone in this tendency, and there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re not weak, you’re not a slug, and you’re not worthless – let’s just get that straight. You’re simply a product of modern life, and we have not been taught what we need to make this happen. In fact, the demands of our lifestyle almost guarantee that you can’t make healthy habits stick, yet the unhealthy habits are so easy to maintain. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. It simply means you need more of these three essential components.
The First Two Things You Need to Make Healthy Habits Stick
I’ve said many times in my videos and in my private Facebook group that you have to connect with your body’s inner wisdom. Then, of course, the question becomes ‘How do you do that?’
That’s where mindful practices come in. The first thing you need is a peaceful mind, and mindfulness helps you attain that. You don’t have to do anything formalin informal practice is fine, and I’ll tell you more about that below.
As you start becoming more mindful, you develop awareness, which is the second essential requirement to make healthy habits stick. Why? Because your body is always sending you messages. But you have to be ‘connected’ with your body to ‘hear’ them. It’s like a mother who can sense when her child is hurt without seeing, no matter how far away the child is. Unfortunately, people rarely get the message until the body is screaming to get their attention with disease or pain.
Once you become aware and tune in to your body, you start to understand those messages and what your body needs. You begin to recognize how the lifestyle choices you make affect your body, both positively and negatively. Gradually your love and appreciation of your body and true self, the ‘real you,’ develops. That’s when your happiness level rises and you no longer have to use will power to make make choices. Instead, they simply become your way of life, easily and naturally. That’s when healthy habits begin to stick.
The Third Essential Component You Need to Make Healthy Habits Stick
The third essential component is energy – vital life force energy. Will power does not last, and when it runs out, you feel even worse – disappointment, shame, guilt, failure, failure, frustration, fear – a whole slew of emotions that drag you down even further. When your energy is weak or low, you cannot get to the deep consciousness of your body’s wisdom. It’s too easy for your intellectual mind to make up rationalizations, create illusions, or blame others.
For example, if you want to get out of a state of depression, and everything around you (including the people) reinforce that state, how can you break out of that cycle without energy? When you develop stronger vital life force energy, the body’s messages become more clear to you as well. So once you know the body, in turn, this affects your decision-making process. You develop more clarity around what is best for you and learn to balance your emotions. It’s a continual cycle, each enhancing the other.
How To Get Started
A good first step to connect the intellectual mind with the wisdom of the body, is to allow yourself time every day to let the brain relax. This does not mean watching a mindless tv show or chatting with friends. It means being in a quiet place without interruptions, just tuning in to your body. You don’t have to sit in a pretzel position and chant ‘ohm.’ Just focus on the sensations in the body, including breathing.
Better yet, go to a place in nature where you can sit or lie quietly, letting the natural surroundings caress you. Close your eyes, slow your breathing, making the exhale longer than the inhale, and let your brain drain. Engage all your senses; attune them to the life forces around you.
Give it a try. See what it does for you. And if you’re serious about making healthy habits stick and lasting change in your life, stop trying to do it alone. Consider this: Very few athletes make it to the winner’s circle without a coach supporting them along the way. Very few business people make it to the top without a mentor teaching them the ropes. And I wouldn’t be here sharing my knowledge with you if it weren’t for my own coaches and teachers.
Friends and Facebook groups are fine, but they are not a substitute for a trained coach or mentor who knows how to ask the questions to get you ‘unstuck,’ to guide you to your ‘blind spots,’ help you figure out what you need to change and to help you face your fears. Working with a coach who has been through this and really understands the process is where powerful transformation happens.
If this is the year you are finally going to slim down, energize, and come to a new level of happiness, I invite you to schedule a free one-hour session with me. Click HERE to ‘Discover Your Path to Minimize Pain and Maximize Energy.’ But only do it if you’re serious. Because this process does take some work, and honesty, and willingness to go forward in a new direction in spite of your fears. It can be scary, but it’s OH SO WORTH IT!
I’ve done it, and I believe you can do it too!
P.S. This is the practice I do to enhance my life force energy.
