Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.

-John Rohn

Breaking ‘bad’ habits is hard. Instead, create new ‘good’ habits to accomplish your goals. As the new habits become part of your routine, they will start to replace the bad habits. Better still, acquiring a ‘good’ habit in one area of your life will carry to other areas as well. Here are seven habits to start creating right now:

1. Practice Gratitude

It’s as easy as writing down three things each day that you are grateful for. Do this in your journal in the morning to set the tone for your day or before bed as you recall good things throughout your day. Appreciate the small stuff and the big things. This practice will start to shift your perspective. You’ll feel more fulfilled, compassionate, and happy.

2. Meditate

Meditation can be done seated or walking, guided or silent. It takes as little as five to ten minutes each day. Check out HeadSpace.com or these free guided meditations from Tara Brach. Just as an exercise routine is part of a healthy lifestyle, a meditation practice is part of living mindfully. The proven benefits of mindfulness and mediation will help you reach any goal: improved immunity, compassion, will-power, focus, memory, productivity, and creativity, and decreased stress, depression, pain, and anxiety. Meditation clears the way for good things to happen in all areas of your life.

3. Eat Real Food

Basically if you eat like crap, you are going to feel like crap physically and emotionally. If you don’t feel good, you won’t have the energy, focus, or the drive to do the work to accomplish your goals. Stock your kitchen every week with fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains. Make it as easy as it needs to be by buying pre-washed, pre-cut produce and single serving size packages. Set aside one day to prepare lunches and/or dinners for the week. Carry your water bottle everywhere you go. Start everyday with breakfast and let the momentum carry you forward all day long.

4. Exercise

Physical exercise is as good for your mind as it is for your body. You’ll be amazed at how many ‘bad’ habits fade away when you start sticking to an exercise routine that you love. You’ll eat better, cut back on alcohol, and get to bed earlier to have the energy for the next day’s training session. Perhaps a big obstacle in reaching your goals has been lack of time. Dedicating time to exercise and improve your fitness actually gives you the gift of more time. Exercise improves mood, focus, productivity, and creativity. These benefits make all tasks easier and faster to complete. Since everything takes less time and energy, you’ll actually have more time throughout your day as a result of adding exercise to your daily routine. Think of all that you can accomplish with a little more time everyday.

5. Sleep

Think you’re good on 4 or 5 hours of sleep? If you are human, probably not. It’s more likely that you forgot what good and rested feels like. It’s not surprising that people who say they don’t need eight hours of sleep are also overweight, in pain, always sick or injured, stressed at work, or unhappy. They may not see the connection between sleep and health, but science does. Just as laptops and phones need to power down, the mind and body need ample time to recharge. Set a nightly alarm as a reminder to wind down and put away electronics, work, studying, and snacks. Rather than catching up on sleep on your days off, try to stay on about the same sleep schedule every night. If you are getting enough quality sleep, you won’t even need an alarm to wake you in the morning.

6. Set Goals: long-term, short-term, and immediate

First, be clear on your purpose, your reason for getting up out of bed every morning. Create a vision board with your dreams and long-term goals and hang it where you can see it. Write down your three-, six-, and twelve-month goals. Each day, make a short to-do list. The items on your to-do list get you closer to your goals. Accomplishing your goals allows you live your purpose and bring your dreams to life. Look at your vision board and review your purpose everyday to stay on track even when it gets tough. Keep yourself accountable with a nightly progress review and by sharing your goals with your friends, family, and trainer.

7. Time Block

If it’s important to you, make time for it. Block off time for your workouts, yoga class, morning routine, sleep, a lunch break, date night with your spouse, play time with the kids, a walk with your dog, time to tackle your to-do list. If you block off time for the important tasks and stick to your schedule, you won’t fall into the trap of filling your day with stuff that doesn’t get you closer to your goals and your dreams. If you have difficulty saying ‘no’ and you regularly take on more than you can handle, time blocking will be a lifesaver. It’s much easier to turn down a request or an invitation when you can honestly say that you have other plans. You never have to let on that those other plans are a trip to the farmers market, a yoga class, or updating your resume.

Use an app like Way of Life to help you track your progress. Add one new habit at a time. Give it time to stick before adding another. The tougher the habit, the more time it will take to solidify. Set yourself up to be successful with reasonable goals. For example, if you are beginning an exercise routine, aim for getting to the gym two days each week, not five. If you go more often, BONUS! If you hardly drink any water throughout the day, commit to drinking two 20 ounce bottles each day, not a half gallon jug. When you comfortably own those, increase the goal or add another habit. Remember that you only have to be disciplined in the beginning. Once it becomes part of your routine, it will be effortless. When it gets tough, just remember why you started.

People do not decide their future, they decide their habits,

and their habits decide their future.

-F. M. Alexander

Need help getting started or sticking to your routine? Email me to find out how I can help you reach your goals.

Alicia Cross is a Certified Personal Trainer, Wellness Coach, and Yoga Instructor with more than 15 years’ experience working with clients in classes and one-on-one.  She is a yogi, meditator, vegan, and lifter of heavy things. If you’re ready to discover the strength and peace that comes from within, email Alicia@AliciaCrossTraining.com.

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