Step One: Choose Your Activity Wisely:The first step in creating a healthy new habit that will be a long-term staple in your lifestyle is to choose an activity that fits well with who you are and how you live. If you don’t, you may find that you’re working against personality and lifestyle factors that are too ingrained to change, and your new healthy habit never quite takes root. For a more in-depth look at how to choose the best activity for you, take The Stress Reliever Personality Test, which will assess which stress relievers would work best for your lifestyle and personality, and provide you with a list. You can also read more here about choosing the right habits to adopt.
If you don’t know where to start, consider monitoring basic health behaviors like sleeping, eating, hydration, movement, and stress management, and see which area you need to improve upon most. Many people find it easiest to do things in the morning before they start their day, or at night before bed. Others find snatches of time during the day. The following articles have suggestions for all times of day:
6 Great Ways to Start Your Day Exercise for Busy People 10 Great Ways to End Your Day
Some great healthy habits that go great with a friend include:
Walking With a Buddy Adopting Healthy Eating Habits Together Yoga Classes Most Forms of Exercise Talking About Your Feelings
The first month or so is especially important, as that’s the approximate time it takes for a new behavior to become a habit. The rewards you give yourself are a personal choice, and you probably know what would be the best incentive for your own success, but I recommend something small and enjoyable. For example, when I first started going to the gym, I would reward every five gym visits with a new piece of workout clothing—that way I’d feel like I ‘earned’ the new outfits, and I’d also get the payoff of looking better in the dressing room each time I found myself there. Others I know have given themselves a “smart watch” or other similar technology (to reward regular walking), soothing music (to reward and use with yoga practice) or beautiful new pens (to reward journal writing). For additional ideas, I suggest the following:
Top 10 Stress Relief Gifts for Every Budget
If you find that you haven’t kept up with your new plans as you’ve hoped, rather than beating yourself up over it, congratulate yourself for noticing that you need to change or modify your plans—this is very important as it’s the first step in building a new plan that will better serve you! And, if you’re trudging along with it, but have decided that you really may need to try something else instead, at least you know what doesn’t work for you as well, and now you can try something else that you may end up loving. All in all, it’s best to learn several new stress relievers and stress management techniques anyway, to have a few options available for reducing stress in your body and mind. (For ideas on what to try, visit this article on how to choose a stress management habit you can stick with.) Good luck, and have fun! Follow Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts
