When a person says, “I got a habit,” most automatically associate it with something negative? “Habit Factor” by Martin Grunburg did an excellent job touching on how habits can be negative or positive in relation to achieving goals. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always set forth goals to achieve. A major reason I started this blog is actually to have a place to discuss my journey and share some of my musings and goals. In an effort to live my best life while hopefully impacting the lives of others in a positive way, I decided to become more cognizant of my actions and daily routines. This allows me to make sure my actions (or habits) are in alignment with my goals and the person I claim to be.
For instance, one of my most recent goals was not just to reclaim my pre-pregnancy body (I just had a baby on May 3, 2013) but to have a healthy lifestyle. So I first determined what habits would put me on the right path and began tracking how consistent I was. Rather than saying, I am not going to eat junk food, I thought about what I was going to do, such as meditating, drinking a minimum of eight cups of water a day, eating a minimum of seven servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and walking and exercising five to six days a week.
I can be quite competitive, especially with myself, so tracking my habits makes me want to push myself even further. If I see that I had seven servings of fruits and vegetables all last week, I will try to make it eight for the following week. Also, the accountability is there. Sometimes we all get so busy and do not realize how much time has passed since we have last worked out after we set forth the goal. Logging the information gives me the data I need to have tangible evidence on why I have or have not achieved my goal.
Since I started tracking my habits with my healthy lifestyle back in July of this year, I lost 16 1/2 pounds, putting me about three pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight and lost a total of 18 inches from my waist, hips, thighs and arms. I feel more energized and am motivated to keep up these good habits.
Many of us question why our lives have or have not taken certain courses but do not always look at our habits (actions) to determine how significant they are in why we are where we are. Even though there are instances where circumstances arise that are out of our control, our habits are not. We typically control those. The next time you question why you are struggling to reach your goal, consider your habits. They truly can reveal a lot and certainly did for me.
All the best,
Tanya
Journey of Anonomz 