It’s officially October. We have 3 months left of 2014. School has started, you’re back in the swing of things and routine of fall, and the holidays are approaching. . . fast. You have 2 choices.
- Keep doing what you’re doing.
- Correct course and be further along on your “health journey” than where you are today.
In just 3 short months, January 1st is going to be here and it will be time to set new goals for the new year. We have 3 full months before the new year arrives. You can accomplish a lot in 3 months if you simply put your focus on what you want to achieve and get going.
Where do you want to be on January 1st in terms of your health? Seriously, take a second and answer that question for yourself.
If the answer to that question is “healthier” or “fitter” or “leaner” or “weigh less”. . . that’s not good enough. Let’s try again.
Very specifically, where do want to be on January 1st in terms of your health?
Your answer should be more specific and actionable like “able to run 3 miles without stopping or walking” or “lose 2 pounds each month so I’ll be 6 pounds lighter on January 1st”. Make sure your goal is something you can actually measure and will be able to say “yup, I did that!”
Once you know where you want to be on January 1st in terms of one specific health goal, answer this question:
What one behavior can I do everyday to help me reach my goal?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Take a good quality multi-vitamin/mineral and fish oil everyday.
- Drink half your body weight in ounces of water everyday. (ie. 150 lb person would drink 75 oz of water)
- Move your body for 15 minutes or more everyday. (could alternate cardio, HIIT, and/or resistance training)
- Eat 5 servings of veggies everyday. (note that a serving of veggies is approximately a cupped handful)
Pick ONE of these behaviors or one of your own. Don’t pick them all! You should be able to do the behavior everyday, no matter what. It should be easy enough that you can do it, and challenging enough that it is a small stretch from where you are now.
Focus on your ONE behavior everyday. Put the goal in the back of your mind and focus on your ONE behavior everyday. Improving your health depends on changing your behaviors. Progress is a result of action. Now, go for it!
Be sure to track your behavior everyday on your calendar, health journal, or make tallies on a piece of paper. If you don’t do the behavior one day, don’t beat yourself up. Start again the next day!
What ONE behavior are you going to focus on for the next 3 months? Leave a comment below to share.
