Small Habits, Big Results!
Sep 12, 2021
I’ve been writing for a few weeks now on some of the food and lifestyle habits and practices we can all follow to create a more resilient life - full of health, vitality, energy, adventure, connection -- all the things that can become more elusive as we age.
But how do we make those healthy habits stick?
We’ve all set those ambitious New Year’s resolutions (lose weight, get to the gym, etc., etc.), only to have them fall away after a few weeks, or even days!
Why is that?
Because those resolutions often come from what we think we should be doing.
And it turns out that simply trying to think a new habit into existence, using only the logical side of our brain, and using willpower to drive our behaviour, isn't nearly enough.
Choosing a new habit to develop will be more successful if it’s something we deeply know to be important and valuable to our life.
And how do we gain that deeper knowing?
By listening to the wisdom of the body!
Research shows that developing practices such as mindfulness, meditation, self-care and healthy choices will go a long way to support a transition to a new you – less stressed, more resilient, better able to thrive in this ever-changing world.
We’ve all had moments where we’ve felt the wisdom of the body, whether gut feelings, or a knowing in the heart. And we’ve often recognized that these feelings are in opposition to the logical messages from your head!
Which part of you is right? Which part of you knows the “truth”?
I invite you to join me and find out!
In other words, ask your body what matters. Ask who you are, and who do you want to become. Get in touch with who you really are.
Discover your “Why”!
It also turns out that the key to building lasting habits is focusing on creating a new identity first. Your current behaviours are simply a reflection of your current identity. What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously).
To change your behaviour for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself. You need to build identity-based habits.
Again, ask your body what matters. Ask who you are and who do you want to become. Then ask yourself “How would THIS version of you behave?”
For example, suppose you know that a healthier you would make sure to hydrate on a regular basis throughout the day with zero-calorie beverages (ever heard the expression “don’t drink your calories?”), would that inspire you, without feeling deprived, to drink more fresh water and fewer soft drinks, sugar-laced coffee, or alcohol?
Or your new identity is a person who wakes up refreshed every morning (without an alarm!). Would you get to bed early most nights?
A "why" is your own internal motivation for pursuing a specific behaviour or course of action, and psychologists have clearly shown that intrinsic motivation beats extrinsic every time.
Powerful “whys” comes from INSIDE and happen when you create space to be self-aware and introspective. By listening to your body and what it’s ready to tell you!
Powerful “whys” are the things that you WANT to do based on who you KNOW yourself, deep down inside, to be who you truly are!
Knowing your “why” also supports you in resisting temptations, especially when you find yourself in situations where external pressures are strong. Can you relate - you go out with friends, begin the evening with a firm resolve to stick with your diet (using that limited resource of willpower) but before you know it, you’re “enjoying” the fries, the wine and dessert! Sound familiar?
How can you change your behaviour through the use of Not just knowing your “why” but also one small step at a time?
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, advises us to start small! Start by picking a habit that doesn’t need a lot of motivation. He states that “Rather than trying to do something amazing from the beginning, start small and gradually improve. Along the way, your willpower and motivation will increase, which will make it easier to stick to your habit for good.”
Let's say you want to develop a regular Meditation habit - something many people have told me they have tried, and can’t get it to stick. What if it turns out you are trying “too hard”? You are trying to sit for 20 minutes the first time out, and find that your mind keeps wandering, giving you the impression that you have failed? That you will never be able to meditate? Sound familiar?
What if I told you that simply by focusing on taking one breath, you have begun meditating? In other words, start small! Make it simple! Make it doable! Something that you know you can do on a daily basis. Don’t ask so much of yourself to start. Then gradually over time, you will expand to 5 breaths, 10 breaths, 10 minutes and more! And look at you, you are a regular meditator! You’ve changed your identity! And if you choose (yes, it is your choice!) to identify yourself as a meditator from the beginning, from that single first breath, it will be even easier to develop this habit!
Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. —Jim Rohn
You’ve asked your body “What Matters?”, listened deeply, begun to understand your new identity and what small/attainable habits the NEW (Resilient!) you will follow.
But how can you further ensure that the new you will get on the habit track with sustainable daily practices?
Take one step and one day at a time! Let go of judgement! Build in Accountability! Create a support network!
Introducing the Radical Resilience Group Program!
-- a group program to support YOU in developing the healthy, sustainable food and lifestyle habits and practices that will enable YOU to become the Resilient person you know deep within you that you were meant to be! Through ancient yoga and meditation practices, PLUS the modern sciences of nutrition and neuroscience, we will start with “What’s My Why?” to overcome willpower failures and build the internal muscle to become more resilient one day at a time.
- Are you frustrated when you can’t seem to change your behaviour despite numerous resolutions and times trying?
- Are you worried that as you get older your health (etc.) will decline -- or already is declining?
- Are you confused about what habits to work on first?
What will you learn and practice?
- Befriend and Align with your body through yoga and meditation - your body knows!
- Understand the mind and nervous system - employ techniques to regulate your vagus nerve
- Take small doable steps on a regular basis to develop your “habit muscle “ to create effortless transformation!
Includes:
- TWO private one-on-one thirty-minute sessions with me to discuss your goals and strategies (beginning and end of program)
- Weekly LIVE Skill and Knowledge webinars (a new topic each week) to increase your understanding of WHY; includes breathwork and meditation experiences + recordings for future use
- Twice weekly LIVE Yoga and meditation classes + recordings for daily use
- Bi-weekly LIVE culinary workshops - Cook with me and dinner will be ready! + recordings for future use
- Strategies for developing a sustainable Self-care Practice!
- Choice of habits to develop - my recommendations or pick your own - and OK, yes, I do want us all to begin with Meditation, it truly is the keystone habit!
- Access to FB group for group support - yes I will be live to answer questions
- Access to all recordings to review at your leisure or in case you can’t make a class live.
Begins Sunday, October 3 and runs for 8 weeks
Join by September 18 and get the LIVE "7 Days to Get the Sugar Out" program that begins on September 19 included!
Challenge yourself to radical transformation and become resilience.
Find out more about Radical Resilience NOW!
References
Atomic Habits, James Clear
https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
Better Than Before, Gretchin Rubin
https://gretchenrubin.com/books/better-than-before/about-the-book/
Tiny Habits, BJ Fogg
The Forgotten Body, Elissa Cobb
https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/the-forgotten-body-a-way-of-knowing-and-understanding-self/
Habits—A Repeat Performance, by David T. Neal, Wendy Wood, and Jeffrey M. Quinn
How to build good habits – and actually make them stick, Brigid Schulte
For more info on this and other natural health topics:
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