If in the past you had several failed attempts in changing some bad habits and you lack motivation to start over, I will explain to you why that may happen and hopefully find a way to get passed it.
Each time you start making a major change in your daily routine, there will be an intense period of discomfort as your body transitions and adapts to the new situation, which is perfectly normal.
For example if you start exercising , you may get sore muscles, if you start a healthier diet, you may experience fatigue, headaches and cravings, if you start waking up earlier in the morning, you may feel extremely sleepy all day, if you give up a drug consumption you may experience sweating and trembling. This period of discomfort can last from 1 week to even 1 month, depending on how major the change is. I like to call this period the “critical point”, because you will be very tempted to give up, feeling that on top of the fact you see no beneficial results, you feel even worse than before!
It is crucial than once you touch the critical point you don’t give up, and continue with your new improved habit!
WHY?
Whenever you want to make a huge improvement in your overall well being, a lot of force takes place, but in order to make that jump, you first must take a step back or downwards, in order to have a better propulsion force. Like a rocket launch. 🚀
This phenomena can be noticed everywhere in nature. Just picture any animal trying to make a high jump. In order to do that, they first bend their knees and even their whole body downwards, and then push ahead.
Now that you understand why it feels like sh*t to change your habits, it still can be too painful and hard to keep up with. Here are some other tools that can help.
- Make sure the first habit you change is your diet!
This one is super important and it will make it less painful for you. Before diving into exercising or any type of habit that requires energy, either mental or physical, make sure your diet is full in vitamins and minerals, and not from tablets or powders, but from real fruit and vegetables. Make sure your diet is sugar free, and even gluten free.
WHY?
Improving your diet above anything else, will give you more energy, more vitality, more clarity and more happiness and positive emotions, as the things we eat can drastically influence our hormons, thus our mood swings.
Once you have your diet in place, changing other types of habits is a lot less stressful and painful because you have the energy support and the happy mood to sustain it.
2. Attach an emotional background to your purpose
Emotions are so electrically charged, that it would be a waste not to take advantage of them when trying to make a huge change.
Think of an emotional reason for which you are trying to improve a habit. Maybe you want to give up drug addiction for the happiness of your children, maybe you want to lose weight to feel more confident and attractive for your partner.
Just find an emotional feeling that you can access whenever you feel like quitting, to push you forward.
3. Journal everything!
Take rigorous and very detailed notes of how you your new habit is going and how it is influencing your day.
For example:
“25 may: today I woke up at 6:45 a.m. It felt very tiring, especially because it was very cloudy outside. I almost stayed more in bed, but I knew that it will make me feel worse if I fail, so I got up. I took my nike snickers this time. They seem more comfortable. This time I could run 5 minutes straight without any pause. I feel just a little sore now”
This type of journaling, not only helps you keep track of what works and what not, making improvements a lot faster, and identifying blockages, but it also helps for overall motivation, having a detailed view of your progress.
Nevertheless, I’m rooting for you! Don’t give up!
Laura Dogariu 