You have had a really busy two weeks.  You have committed to eating better, and you find yourself eating out again, and those fries are just so tempting.  You choose fries and later you think, “I did it AGAIN!”  What happened to planning my meals?  What happened to shopping each week?  What happened to eating wholesome vegetables at each meal?  I am failing again…This will never work…I am never going to get this right!

These thoughts can lead us down a spiral of defeat and despair.  Begin to notice the thoughts and how they generally focus on what you haven’t done right.

Lifestyle modifications take intentionality and effort.  And they take time.  We don’t go from knowing what to eat to eating the “right” way in just one day.  The habits you have developed over years will take time to modify.

Where do you start in the now?  We invite you to start by acknowledging what you ARE doing well.  Notice the small successes you are having.  When making lifestyle modifications we tend to focus on the things that we are not doing “right”, the things we should not be doing.

What would it be like if you acknowledged that when you went out to eat you did order a salad instead of pizza?  Or even the time you skipped that fast food restaurant when you were really hungry and went home to eat instead.  Or the time you chose water over that soda.

Celebrate the small wins as you go.  We promise they are there!  Do an internal happy dance or a full body, fully self-expressed happy dance!  Really experience the accomplishment of the small win! Write down your successes in a journal or on your calendar – they serve as a reminder later.  Share your successes with an accountability buddy.  Share your success on social media. There is even an app for that – Win Streak.

What other ways do YOU see to celebrate the small wins?

These celebrations motivate you to create the next small win, then the next.  They shift your biology and your mental state Before you know it you will look back to see that the habit has shifted to one that serves YOU.

We use eating as an example but this can apply to any area, any habit.  Where are you moving more?  Where are you more aware of the triggers for your habits?  Where are you noticing your behavior more, even when you don’t choose a different behavior now?  Where are you taking new actions in your life?

Awareness of our current behaviors is access to modifying them.  Be aware of when you are doing the “right” behavior AND celebrate it!