Are you struggling in finding the motivation to better yourself? Here are the simple steps in finding motivation for self-improvement with mental health and fitness.
One small step at a time.
Okay, it’s time for me to take steps towards being fitter and healthier—both in a physical sense and in terms of mental health. I need to find self-improvement motivation that provides noticeable results. Not just noticeable, but tangible. They need to be steps that are achievable and that require just the right amount of effort. Let’s face it! If it’s all too hard, then for the umpteenth time of late, I’ll throw in the towel. It will all seem too hard.
Do you find yourself wanting desperately to stick to new habits? Habits you’ve implemented to improve your overall health and fitness. Oh yes, I’m one of those. They start with exercise and healthy eating, only to stop a few days in, kind of person. I have lost count of the times I haven’t followed through.
Excuses, excuses!
Excuses? I have a few I tend to fall back on. They may sound familiar to some of you. The big one is always, I’m anxious or upset, so I’ll treat myself. Tried and true, you’ll see me digging into the biscuit packet or the ice cream. The classic excuse where you reward yourself with not so healthy food as you feel you’ve earned it. Or Hubby still loves me with a few extra kilos, so does it even matter? Just enjoy your food and being sloth-like, now and then.
Because the thing is, I’m not hugely overweight or unhealthy, but I do have room for improvement. Not for Hubby, but for myself. How I feel about myself. Not to please anyone else. Just me. Because this body is the only one I get. I need to work to make sure my life ahead isn’t harder than it needs to be regarding the things my body allows me to do.
Putting in the effort.
So, what will I change in my day to day to improve my physical and mental health? By making and maintaining improvements in the physical aspects, better mental health will follow. I have finally learned, trying to change everything at once, food choices and exercise, does not work for me. I’m sure it can for some, but I put my hand up to not being all that great, where self-discipline is concerned. Slow but steady is my creed. Too much too soon, and I’m a goner!
I have already started to put my first small steps into place. In the past three days, I have achieved one small workout each day. My activities have so far consisted of leg and tummy work and weights for my arms. I even clocked up 13500 steps while at work yesterday. So I’m taking credit for that! When I am given shifts at a particular school, there is a lot of leg and aerobic work involved, as there are several stairs and hills to negotiate. So that’s the start of my small steps to self-improvement–providing myself with some prompts to help with motivation.
The choosing healthy food dilemma.
Not doing all that well, in the not succumbing to junk food department. Oh, dear! I would find it a breeze not to give into biscuits calling my name if they weren’t in the house. But alas, poor Hubby shouldn’t have to go without due to my lack of self-control. So, how will I change my wicked ways, where the naughty snacks are concerned?
Again, small steps will lead to improvement. I will be working to replace my non-healthy choices with their healthier counterparts. It’s so long since I reached for the natural almonds instead of a biscuit. And I love almonds; the biscuit looks more interesting. But looks can be deceiving and to my detriment.
I buy packets of mini carrots as a healthy, feel good about myself, snack choice. But after two weeks of them lazing about in the bottom drawer of the fridge, it’s evident that was money wasted. I can’t do that anymore. The carrots are crying out to be eaten. Like the almonds, I love raw carrots. So why do I have good and honourable intentions while grocery shopping, only to lose the plot once the groceries are packed away completely?
Replacing bad habits.
I’m confident I’m not alone in being guilty of buying healthy food and proceeding to waste it. I understand it is a matter of replacing a bad habit with a new, good practice if I’m going to succeed. Trying to break a habit is not the way to go. It is often just way too hard. So those in the know tell us to replace instead then break!
I’m currently reading “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. I love it! It makes perfect sense in regards to changing our unhelpful habits. His message and advice boil down to little steps that lead to sustained change. As one who has consumed several self-help books of late, I can honestly recommend this particular one. As the advice is both realistic and doable.
A worthwhile and enlightening read.
It’s a journey.
This desire to make healthy and sustainable changes is ongoing and part of a journey, A journey to always try and move forward towards better ways of doing things, whether those things involve our mental or physical health.
So here’s to you and me on taking the steps we need to move forward. However long it takes each of us as long as we take our small efforts to maintain self-improvement motivation—one small but enthusiastic step at a time.