“Make time for your wellness, or you will be forced to make time for your illness.”
– Unknown
It’s easy to say “I will do this when…” but when does “when” ever actually come? There is no doubt that prioritizing health and wellness is hard. It’s even harder when we consider wellness as a monolithic change in our lives. For example, I will be only healthy when I change my diet, implement an exercise program, and meditate daily. “If I won’t be healthy until I do all those things, then I’m never going to be healthy.” This is an easy trap to fall into! When we think of our health as a never-ending list of things to master, it’s almost impossible to implement.
This is where a reframe for wellness can be handy. Flip the script to “I am a little bit healthier after I do X.” This allows us to enjoy the tiny successes that eventually add up to a new habit or skill. Take flossing for example. If you don’t floss regularly, you can tell yourself, “my mouth will be a little healthier after I floss today.” Then, leave it at that. You choose if you will be a little bit healthier today or not.
It’s not dissimilar to what US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven said about making your bed every morning. “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day and it will give you a small sense of pride.” Even on rotten days, a nice clean bed awaits you in the evening, to lull you to dream land. Whether it’s skipping the sodas in lieu of hibiscus tea, or taking the stairs, the tiny things add up.
Create habits to prioritize wellbeing
If you have never read B.J. Fogg’s book “Tiny Habits,” it’s a must read. It helps people understand how to create habits by breaking them into the tiniest of pieces. Think the tapas for habits, makeing them far more digestible. Humans are simple creatures, in the sense that we are physiologically opportunistic creatures. We want the easiest path and our body is literally wired to take the path of least resistance. Without thinking, we follow suit, meaning we fight our natural instinct when making life changes.
One of Fogg’s techniques for creating lasting behavioral change is to use “habit stacking,” to help make something a regular habit. How do you habit stack for wellbeing? Take an existing habit, like brushing your teeth, and pair something else you are trying to make a habit. For example, if you forget to take your morning medicine, start taking it right after you brush your teeth. Since you rarely miss brushing your teeth, by taking your medicine right after, the two become coupled. Eventually, this becomes muscle memory and your hands will naturally reach for your medicine after brushing your teeth. You can create numerous habits for wellbeing through habit stacking.
Using logic to prioritize wellbeing
There is the “ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”, approach, popularized by US historical figure, Benjamin Franklin. In this case, if you perform mild exercise daily, your risk for heart disease and diabetes dramatically decreases. This results in an extended and improved quality of life. For many people, it’s easy to play the pro/con game in our minds, creating space for new habits. For the rest of us, we need something a bit different.
I remember trying to quit gluten. The science said quitting gluten would help my body heal and reduce the chronic inflammation I was experiencing. I remember thinking “I wish something would just force me to quit gluten because it’s too hard on my own.” Careful what you wish for, because not too long after that, I received a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s Disease. I had to completely quit gluten, or risk suffering more, and exacerbating my autoimmune disease. I know better now, but still need that extra push on occasions. It’s fair to say the majority of people fall into the camp where only a major catalyst will help them adapt to prioritizing their health and wellness.
Creating new wellbeing habits one bite at a time
This is where things like habit stacking and tiny changes gather power. If you can’t talk yourself into something, then work to identify what motivates you. Perhaps you want to have energy to play with your kids, or want to be around long enough to see your grandchildren get married. Tie the positive changes in your life to the habits you want to create, then go from there. Start small and only tackle one thing at a time, or it’s easy to get discouraged and give up. If something feels too hard and you want to give up, try making it smaller.
How does this look in real life? If your goal is to eat two vegetarian meals per day, but can only do it 50% of the time, adjust your goal to 1 vegetarian meal per day. Once that is easy and part of your routine, then you add a second meal. This allows for incremental changes, while never giving up. There is nothing wrong with adjusting once you have more information about what you need to be successful. Going back to an older post, I also really love the idea of balancing yin and yang to help change my perspective. We are all bioindividual, so there is no one size fits all, no matter what the latest book or guru has to say.
Are you still having trouble after trying all these things? Maybe it’s time for professional support. That is where Pomona Wellness can help. Our coaching programs will help you identify your specific goals and work with you to be successful. You can also check out more content on Wellspiration or join us over on Substack where you get weekly insights emailed straight to your inbox. Let’s have a conversation and until then, wishing you abundant health and limitless joy!