Are you the type of person that will read something one time, try it out, and then the next day make it part of your routine and habits? If so, then yea!  However, many of us are not like that. It is hard to create new (and sometimes unwanted) habits and stick with them.  I think of all my unaccomplished New Year’s Resolutions over the years.  I start strong and then quickly revert to my old comfortable way of doing things.  As a living system, we reject change. It is part our of nature.  It is normal to do this!  We must be very intentional when we build new healthy fitness habits.

How do we make the changes we want to make?  Mindset is the key component. One must change how they think about it first or things will stay the same.  I have a friend who smoked for 30 plus years.  She wanted to stop but just could not do it.  She enjoyed it.  However, once she changed her mindset and concentrated on why she did not what to smoke, she was able to quit. It was still not an easy task, but she was successful at building new healthy habits to replace smoking.

5 Ways to Build New Healthy Fitness Habits Today

Much of what we do in life is habitual.  We do it without thinking.  After dinner, one might eat chocolate, smoke a cigarette, or take a walk around the block. What is your habit?  Are you happy with it? What do you want your habit to be?  Research shows when you build positive, consistent habits, that you live a fuller, happier life.

• Put your goals or new intended habits in writing to make them concrete.
• Post notes, or reminders about the new habits around the house (on the bathroom mirror, or a kitchen cabinet).
• Get an accountability buddy who will check in on your journey (encourage and tell each other about your successes and setbacks).
• Put a system in place that will support your habits (if you want to drink more water, put a water glass out next to the coffee maker, to get more steps in, set your walking shoes in front of the TV)
• Schedule time on your calendar starting with daily reminders, until it becomes part of what you do without thinking.

Pick one or two of these habit builders to start with. Be intentional about them as you create your new heathy habits.