In life, everything that’s really worth it requires an effort. Eating that extra piece of cake, having random intercourse with strangers and skipping that one additional task at work provides you with some instant gratification. On the other hand, staying fit, developing a meaningful relationship and growing professionally take time and effort. In the long run, nonetheless, achieving the latter is far more satisfying. In order to get there, nonetheless, you need to improve your lifestyle. In order to do so, you need to root out some of your bad habits and replace them with some good ones. This is easier said than done but here are some tips to help you out.
Start very small
One of the first things you lack and need to reestablish is a mental image of causality between your efforts and good results. Admiral McRaven suggests that if you want to change the world, you need to start by making your bed. Why? Well, because this way, even if everything else goes wrong that day, in the evening you get to come home to a made bed. This way, the consequence of at least one positive action that you’ve done throughout the day comes to fruition.
Don’t expect the results on the first day
In a scenario where you’re trying to lose weight, you will probably start by cutting out all the carbs. Now, carbs tie water, which is why after cutting carbs, you can lose as much as up to 5 pounds in the first 2-3 days of your diet. The problem is that this isn’t a real weight loss. The truth is that you don’t weight less; you’re just partially dehydrated. In order to start with the real body transformation, you need at least 10-15 days of proper eating schedule. So, how do you turn this to your benefit? It’s simple, you avoid stepping on the scale for the first 20 days. This is not just the rule about your weight loss but any change that you’re trying to introduce.
Take it easy
The majority of people avoid change because they believe that in order to be long-lasting, any change has to be radical. Still, shocking your body can sometimes cause a yo-yo effect and make you regress quite heavily. Why not choose a half-measure instead and gradually abandon your bad habits without too much of an effort? For instance, instead of just dropping cigarettes, you can start vaping instead. According to the majority of surveys, vaping is up to 95% healthier. In addition, you can pick your favourite e-liquid flavour. This would allow you to gradually reduce the dose of nicotine.
Make your own goals
There are a lot of reasons why you would want to start exercising, eating healthy, quit smoking, etc.; nevertheless, these goals won’t mean much unless they’re meaningful to you personally. A lot of people are passionate smokers for decades, yet, they quit effortlessly once they decide to start a family. Why? Because this is what matters to them the most. Quitting a habit in order to save money sounds like a good plan, however, wouldn’t it be more effective if you knew exactly what to do with the money that you save this way? A dream with a deadline is a goal.
The first five minutes are crucial
They say that the first five minutes are crucial. If you hate the idea of exercising today, try to make yourself work out for five minutes straight. If you make it past the five-minute mark, chances are that you will make it until the end. A similar principle works with anything else that you do either – the rule of five. If you don’t get up in the first five seconds after your alarm starts ringing, you’re more likely to hit the snooze button and so on. Commit in the beginning and it will be a lot easier to carry on.
Endure until you see results
Motivation is the biggest problem in dropping bad habits and developing good ones. Asking yourself is this really worth it or is your effort actually making a difference. For those who manage to endure until the first results, things are much easier to continue. For instance, if you make it past a certain weight loss mark, where you start actually seeing yourself in a different light, it will be a lot harder to sway you from this path. This is far from easy but it’s incredibly satisfying.
In conclusion
Basically, what you’re trying to achieve is start a snowball effect. One positive habit will motivate you to adopt the next one and so on. In several months or years, you can completely turn your life around and start living up to your full potential. This is definitely an ideal worth striving towards and something that’s worth fighting for.
