Success in Starting a New Healthy Habit

New Year’s Day is only 4 weeks away – the day that virtuous resolutions are made, and unfortunately, broken by February.  I’m not so much a fan of New Year’s Resolutions as I am of optimizing health – any time of the year. 

This is as good a time as any to talk about how to set a reasonable goal and optimize the chance of achieving it.  There’s science behind it.  We seek pleasure and try to avoid pain.  We’re looking for that satisfying burst of dopamine.  For many people, carrots and sweating just don’t do what an ice cream sundae does.  So we have to create a situation that makes the new behavior the one that gives us the most satisfaction.

When we imagine a long term goal, it may look like a difficult uphill climb.  Let’s transform that to a staircase with many tiny, achievable steps along the way.  Let’s try to change the “BUT, I can’t…” to an AND statement.  As in, I have a craving AND I can ignore it.  I am tired AND I can go out for a walk.  I’m busy AND I can take 10 minutes for myself.  Each time we do the activity we planned, we gain confidence.

If pursuing your goal is difficult, think about your WHY.  I want to do this BECAUSE in the future, I want to be able to take care of myself, to be able to travel, to play with children, to help others, to feel young, to take as few medications as possible, …  

This initial motivation for change is important, but carries us only so far.  Then we require a habit to keep the healthy, but maybe more challenging, behavior going. 

The areas in Lifestyle Medicine that you can focus a goal around are nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, personal relationships, stress management and avoidance of toxins.

You might have heard about  SMART goals to build habits.   The basis is to use small steps that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant to your goal, and Time dependent.  What does that look like in practice?  Adjust these based on your current behavior:

I will walk for 30 minutes five days a week.

I will have a fruit once a day as a snack (or greens or berries or … )

I will get into bed in time to give myself more than 7 hours of sleep.

Once a week, I will call someone I haven’t checked in with lately.

I will spend time each day on something that relieves stress – you choose: art, music, being in nature, quiet meditation, religion,  gratitude, hugging a pet …

The Time dependent part refers to checking back in with yourself at a certain time – say 2 or 4 weeks – and deciding if you’ve met your goal.  If so, set a slightly higher goal.  And if not, it’s ok.  That’s the time to decide if the goal was too ambitious, if there were barriers that need to be addressed, etc.  And instead of abandoning the goal, just re-adjust and try again.  

Achieving the smallest goal is a win, and sets us up for achieving the next goal. If you have a friend who has similar goals and challenges, you can make each other your Goal Buddy. Be accountable to yourself and to them.

I’ll be following up with a post about how to make a new habit easier to achieve.  But don’t wait!  Get a jump on your first SMART goal and start on a path to a healthier new year!