Have you tried to improve your health and well-being but it just hasn’t worked?
Do you wish it were easier?
I know the feeling. Getting motivated to improve your health and well-being isn’t easy, but it can become easier if you make a few shifts.
These shifts happen in your head.
Are you starting to become curious? Let’s take a look at what they are, shall we?
1. Tiny Steps
The first thing you want to do is take tiny steps. You don’t have to overhaul your health overnight. You don’t have to go from eating pizza and pasta to living on broccoli and sprouts.
You can start tiny. You can add one more piece of fruit to your diet per week. You can remove sugar from your life one teaspoon at a time.
When you focus on taking small steps, it’s much easier to get motivated, because everything feels that much more doable.
2. Relax
Remember to relax about your health. We’re bombarded with pictures of photo-shopped men and women. We think we have to reach an impossible ideal.
The truth of the matter is that you don’t have to reach anything to be happy.
In fact, when you stop trying so hard, you become happier, and you make more progress.
You realize that you can do your best with what you have.
There’s no rush to get anywhere. You can enjoy the journey.
3. Accept Reality
The reality is that change often happens slowly. Yes, there are people who make “overnight” changes. You might see them in TV shows and documentaries, but how many of them end up falling back to their old ways? Quite a few.
That’s why it’s much more sustainable to take things so slow that it almost doesn’t feel like you’re making progress.
This doesn’t mean you can’t make big changes. By all means change your whole life if you feel inspired to do so, but don’t force it. Let whatever happens happen naturally.
There’s a time for change, and there’s a time for plateaus.
4. Make It Fun
The reason most people aren’t motivated to improve their health is because it feels like a chore. Not changing feels easier.
But what if you made it a game?
There are apps for phones that help you stick with habits, such as the Lift app. Make it a goal to do something tiny each day, such as eat a piece of fruit, walk around the block, or take a multivitamin.
Over time, these small habits will change your life and your health.
5. Compound Interest
When you invest over a long period of time, chances are that you’ll end up with a fortune down the road. It’s not always the case, but let’s pretend it is for the sake of this analogy, okay?
Well, the same is true for your health: When you take small steps every day, you end up changing your life within a few years, and it will feel effortless.
Unlike investing, you can start reaping the benefits right away, because when you start exercising and eating better, you become happier and have more energy.
The Bottom Line
You don’t have to force change. You can let it happen almost by itself, but you do have to take the first step.
In order to get motivated to improve your health, focus on tiny steps and let go of the seriousness of it all.
There’s no rush. Enjoy the journey and enjoy the adventure.
And above all, enjoy figuring out how you can make improving your well-being as easy as possible.
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Henri K.J. Is the founder of HappyHealthyRelaxed.com, where he writes about becoming happier and healthier with down-to-earth and practical tips. If you liked this article, you may like his piece on improving your health.
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