4 things you can do right now.
I guarantee you, you are not alone. Getting off course isn't a matter of "if", but "when". We ALL fall off track, and when we do, it's easy to feel like we're out of control. The best way to avoid feeling this spiral is to focus on the smallest step we can take.
What's the lowest hanging fruit?
Also, if you're reading this during the holidays or summer, that means it's the perfect time to start. Don't wait until after the holidays. It just makes everything feel bigger and feeds into all or nothing thinking.
Here are your 4 steps to getting back on track
1.) Create a goal
and write it out. If we don't know where we want to go, how are we going to make moves and get unstuck?
Dream big but aim small. Having ripped six pack washboard abs might be your goal, but it could take a long time to get there if your body is able to get there at all. Chances are, there are going to be plenty of times along the way when you don't feel like you're making progress or you might even have set backs. Instead of focusing just on the outcome, focus on the process and what meaningful milestones along the way could look like.
If your goal is to lose 30 pounds, let's set our first milestone at 3 pounds. OR, not even a number, the first milestone can be packing a lunch to take with you to work.
Then, we celebrate that milestone, but NOT with candy or food treats ;) We celebrate with a foot rub, new fancy candle, whatever.
Then, we create our next milestone. Another technique is to set our milestones all at once in the beginning.
2.) Focus on the next step.
Again, it's not about not falling off track. It's about how quickly we can get back on.
We have to do SOMETHING or else we're going to stay stuck. The problem is, most of us envision the *perfect* next step, and then do nothing at all. So, just take any step - even if it feels totally insignificant or like it might not be the exact right step, just take it. This is what creates momentum.
Take the step and we'll sort out if we need to redirect later. At least we've got things moving.
3.) Monitor
Just like with a budget. We can't improve our spending habits if we don't know what our spending habits are.
When we get clarity on where we are, where we're going (by setting a goal), then we can help keep ourselves accountable by monitoring our journey. Without this clarity, what we think is true or real often becomes distorted due to emotions, fatigue, peer pressure, etc.
4.) Coach vs Criticize
Now we know where we want to go, at least our first step in going in that direction, and we have a plan for measuring our progress. It's easy to put a lot of pressure on ourselves along the way when we feel like we aren't doing things perfectly.
We want to coach ourselves rather than criticize ourselves. Coaching feels like a supportive voice that encourages us to keep moving forward. Criticizing feels like a voice that says we're messing up and not good enough.
Coaching ourselves not only feels better but it also produces results. Criticizing ourselves is impossible to avoid all together, but if we let that voice take over, it can slow us down and even halt our progress all together by encouraging all or nothing patterns. Think "I totally blew it this weekend. Ugh what's wrong with me?! I'll just start again next week."
Work with me and I'll help you make an action plan, help you monitor, and hold you accountable each step of the way.
#nodiets #antidiet #progressnotperfection #getbackontrack