Day 43: Make Healthy Habits Stick For Good!

Don’t Believe The Lie of Motivation

It’s normal to be highly driven one week and rather apathetic the next. Psychologists have confirmed this phenomenon by studying human behavior. Don’t waste time feeling bad about your fluctuating levels of motivation; this only makes you “more human.” Roll with it and adjust accordingly.

Write Down Your Goals

Have you ever written down your health-related goals? You probably think this sounds unnecessary, but it actually works. According to one study, people who wrote down their goals and shared updates with their friends on a weekly basis were 33% more likely to achieve them.

Specify the When, Where, and How

It’s hard to achieve goals unless you have a solid plan of action. So to reach them, specify the when, where, and how. This is called implementation intention.

Set Realistic Deadlines

Set deadlines, but make them realistic. You’re more likely to stick with a plan if it’s doable!

Get Support from Friends or Family

Friends give encouragement and make you accountable for your actions. If you have a friend that has similar goals, you’re in luck. Studies show that people who exercise together are more likely to stick to the program.³ So buddy up whenever possible in order to hit your goals.

Use Healthy Competition

Competition is a great motivator. For some reason, winning can really increase your self-esteem. If you’re planning to lose weight or eat healthy, consider making it into a competition. Compete with friends, neighbors or even coworkers. Why? Research shows that competitive weight loss actually works. Apparently, the TV networks have already caught on to this. ;-)

Don’t Get Discouraged

You’re not going to be consistent 100% of the time, and that’s okay. When you’re good, reward yourself for the things that you have accomplished. People respond better to reward than punishment when they need to change behaviors. So when you’re “bad,” please don’t beat yourself up!