It is natural to want to throw in the towel sometimes on our pursuit of health. I have discovered that when I find joy in my life, everything is better. This is not the same thing as saying everything is perfect, in fact, it never will be. However, when attitudes and mindsets shift the outcomes become positive. Let me explain what I mean with some examples.
Setting Goals
I am sure you have probably heard of SMART goals: specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-based. Setting a goal helps keep focus and the outcome visible. When I set goals I like to write them down and look at them periodically. If it is a daily goal, like drinking water, I keep my water bottle in front of me all day. If it is a weekly or monthly goal I hang it on the wall/fridge or put it on a calendar where I cannot miss it. It helps if I have at least two goals at a time – one for the short-term and one long-term.
Struggles
There will come a day when life happens and it is hard. Hard to focus, hard to get over the stress, hard to not eat everything in sight, or hard to find the energy to even move. I just do the best I can on those days and move forward knowing it will get better. The key words here are to move forward, unlike the graphic depicting giving up for a month. I made the mistake of letting hard times derail me for long periods of time and realized that was not worth it. Through those experiences, I did learn tricks about myself that have helped minimize those occurrences from happening or at least from lasting as long. The best one was to give myself grace and keep moving forward, because backwards is not where I want to be.
Excuses
When I first started I was full of excuses. I did not know how to cook. Maybe it was too late for me to unlearn bad habits. The information on the internet is overwhelming. What if it does not work and it was all a waste of time. Excuses came to me a dime a dozen, but it was always going to be a 'what if' situation if I never started.
Happy Activities
Find activities that give you joy. They can be cheap like watching a sunset or a sunrise, anything that gives you a smile and helps you stop to take a deep breath. These activities will help ground you and give you joy. Maybe try a meditation. I do not do it often, but my Fitbit now has an option for meditation.
Routine
Having a routine brings me joy because I know what to expect and how I can make the best of it. If you are not a routine person, this will be the opposite for you. Find something consistent that helps keep you accountable for the goals that you set above so when a hard day comes success is still possible.
Imperfection
This is the sister example to routine. When something comes up that I did not plan for I try to smile and know these changes can be the best sources of joy.
Support from Others
For the longest time, I rarely shared what I was thinking or what my focus was, but I realized that the important people in your life want to give you support. I would encourage you to find someone you trust to share your goals with and let them show you support.
I find joy in supporting others (that is part of the reason I have started my own company) so if you do not know where to turn, I would love to be your cheerleader.
