One of the things I hear frequently from clients is how hard it is to be consistent with making healthy changes. We start the year off with this positive can-do attitude, our goals all neatly mapped out but by the end of January we're flagging and reverting back to our old ways.
WHY?....
The simple reason is you are trying to stay consistent in your head instead of using simple systems and simple external physical cues to keep you organised and to keep these changes top of mind. That's it.
There's just too much going on in your head to even attempt to stay focused on your goals; old wiring, negative thought loops, and self-sabotaging behaviours. To even attempt to override and overcome any of that we need to put our good choices literally in front of our faces -every day!
According to James Clear, best-selling author of Atomic Habits;
"We do not rise to the level of our goals we fall to the level of our systems."
Creating systems that make our good choices and habits visible and easy will significantly increase the likelihood of us staying consistent. Instead of rearranging your mind and your mental to-do lists, rearrange your house and your environment to support you in remembering your goals and achieving your habits.
Here are a few ways you can make your healthy choices more visible and easy this year. The key is to make the good choices easy and the bad choices harder.
- Lay out your gym clothes the night before to reduce the likelihood of you changing your mind first thing when you said you would exercise.
- Put your healthy meal choice ready for the next day in the fridge with your water bottle topped up to reduce the chance you will make a snap decision and make a bad food choice in the moment.
- Remove unhealthy food and drink choices out of the house or from view. If you have to go to the shop to buy the wine or chocolate you are less likely to bother.
- Write a post-it note with your goals for the year and stick it on your bathroom mirror. That way you have to look at it before you go to bed every night and every morning when you brush your teeth.
When you make these positive choices for yourself you are choosing to support the future you and setting yourself up for success instead of leaving it to chance or 'willpower'. Making these systems part of your environment will help you to stay consistent with achieving your goals and means you are not just hoping the old you will win the day.