I don’t know about you, but I feel like re-evaluating my schedule, my life, and my goals when September comes around and the kids go back to school. This is my time to reset my priorities much more so than on January 1st and even a little bit more than on my birthday. This is pretty common as families are getting back to a routine after the relative freedom of summer and the kids are being scheduled for their various extra-curricular activities.
Now that you know what your kids are signed up for, you can have a better idea of what times you have available to fit in the things that you need and want to do, and can starting making some concrete plans for the next few months. So it’s a great time to get out the calendar or planner and make some goals for your health and happiness. Here are 5 tips to help you be more successful in that regard.
- Remember the Why
Whenever you are working towards living a healthier life, it’s so important to remember the real reasons that you want to do so. Beyond just feeling better, having more energy, and being more joyful, it is so important to bear in mind why you deserve to live your best life and what your true motivation is to do this sometimes challenging work. Maybe it’s to be there for your kids; maybe it’s to be a better spouse; maybe it’s simply because life is special and you are worthy of this effort. Find out what drives you and let that keep you going even when things are hard.
- Focus on what Matters
Undoubtedly there are many ways you can think of to live a healthier life. Certainly we are inundated with all kinds of health products, services, and procedures all with claims of helping you feel better and live longer. But realistically, we likely already know what those fundamentals are that would make the biggest difference in our health. And it is much more efficient to focus our energy on those no matter your current state of health. So work on ways to increase the amount of exercise/activity you do, enhance your intake of fruits and vegetables, improve your sleep habits, quit smoking, or increase the joy in your life. Within these big categories you can find numerous ways to improve your well being, and you’ll be getting the biggest return on your investments.
- Be Specific
Having outlined some general areas to put your energy towards, it is imperative to be as specific as you can when making your health goals. Simply saying you’re going to exercise more or eat more vegetables isn’t likely to lead to meaningful change. You need to be exact in what you plan to do. Set out a specific workout plan being clear on what, when, where, and how you will be doing it. Be precise in how you will be adding more vegetables to your diet (maybe you’ll always have cut up carrots in the fridge for a quick after work snack, or you’ll always have a simple salad to start your dinner). Regardless of your goal, be specific so there is less uncertainty and fewer excuses.
- Use the Power of the Pack
In trying to succeed with your health goals, it often helps if you are accountable to other people. Tell someone what you are planning to do or, better yet, do it with a friend. That way you can help each other when motivation or energy wanes, and you have the bonus of having someone to celebrate with when the goal is achieved. Join a group class to add to your commitment, sign up for a running race (and tell people) to have a public target to aim for, or agree to cook some bulk meals to freeze with a friend. You never want to disappoint yourself, but sometimes it’s even more motivating to not want to disappoint someone else.
- Build on Success
One of the biggest issues I see in my family practice is that people often want to set unrealistic goals in their desire to be healthy. They may try to add too much exercise too soon, try a radically strict diet, or try too many changes at once. This can easily lead to frustration, disappointment, and to giving up. It is far better to set goals that are more attainable and then advance to more challenging goals as you build on that success. At minimum, you should be 80% confident that you can achieve any goal that you are setting. This will help you maintain momentum towards your healthier life.
September may be the end of summer and the start of fall, but it is a great beginning for our children going back to school and for us adults who want to take more control over our health and well-being. Use this time to reset, re-focus, and make that effort to lead a healthier life.
For more ways to target your health, check out my book Healthier You: A Family Doctor’s Guide to the Fundamentals of Better Living, which is available for pre-order on Sept 11, 2018.
