Why You Can’t Seem to Get Going on Your Goals
We mostly know the things we should be doing to get and stay healthy. We need to be eating a balanced diet, moving our bodies frequently, getting enough sleep, reducing stress, etc. Despite knowing these things, we often struggle to get going on making lifestyle changes, even if we know they could change our health and our lives. So, what’s holding us back from finally starting that exercise program, or downloading the meditation app? While there’s several possibilities, some of these might be the barriers holding us back.
- You’re feeling ambivalent or resistant to making change.
- Not feeling excited about making change is a natural part of the change process. The bigger the change, the bigger the resistance or ambivalence. The good news? Feeling this way signals that it’s important to you. Let yourself feel the resistance and plan to take action anyway.
- You set a goal that is too much all at once.
- When we want to change our health, we often start by “exercising every day, only eating vegetables, and never feeling any stress ever.” We are setting ourselves up for failure with these overly ambitious goals. Start small, your daily action goals should feel very doable. Exercise one day a week, add one vegetable to one meal, OR do one meditation a week. One at a time.
- You’re overlooking the basics.
- You think the basics don’t work, and that you must go straight to ultramarathons and becoming a Buddhist monk. The most high-tech, intense things might be great, but the basics are what is going to keep you healthy and happy for a long time.
- You will only start when you can be perfect.
- Being healthy is not a perfect process. The healthiest people have balance in their lives, they stay up late some nights, and skip workouts when their friends are in town. The difference is that they always get back to the basics.
- To be successful?
- Focus on the basics consistently.
- Choose one small change and focus on that for a couple of weeks, when you’re ready, you can add in a new one. Start small and keep things simple.
These habits and your efforts will ebb and flow during different phases of your life. Some months (or years) you’ll be the fastest runner on your block, and others you’ll be cheering on your neighbor in their wellness pursuits. Give yourself grace and remember to keep things simple.
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/i-know-what-i-should-do-but-i-dont-do-it
