Create Good Habits Instead of New Year’s Resolutions

Some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions are to exercise more, lose weight, improve nutrition and stress less. While creating healthy habits in the form of resolutions can help with your overall well-being and mental health, it’s not easy to change everything all at once, which is why New Year’s resolutions often don’t last throughout the year. Bold resolutions, such as going to the gym four days a week when you’ve never been before, often fail without taking the necessary steps needed to set yourself up for success.1 After all, a habit is something that you do often and regularly, sometimes on a daily or routine basis, and it’s these habits that people find they can actually stick to. So, how can you change your habits or form better ones for your overall health and well-being?

Breaking Old Habits to Create Good Ones

Breaking old habits and suddenly trying to start new ones is no easy feat. Bad or old habits are often part of our daily routine, such as skipping breakfast due to a busy schedule or sitting too much throughout the day due to work, which makes them even more difficult to break. Rather than changing a lot of things all at once, resulting in feeling overwhelmed, it’s easier to set small goals and then try to achieve each goal over time. Setting small goals, such as walking an extra five or ten minutes a day, can help you to create good habits. However, keep in mind that it might take several months to create a new habit and for the change to become part of your regular routine.² It might also help to use a diary, planner or phone app to remind you to maintain your good habits, and your family and friends can also be a great support system to keep you motivated.

Just like bad habits, which can be caused by a trigger, good habits are also triggered by events. For example, seeing a vending machine at work might be the trigger that causes you to buy and eat junk food, such as crisps or chocolate. If you can’t avoid this vending machine at work, buy something healthy from it instead, such as trail mix, popcorn or an energy bar. In this way, you’re replacing a bad habit with a good one.

Ways to Help You Form New Healthy Habits¹

1. Create new habits from existing ones – Forming new habits can be tricky, but the best way to do it is to tie it to an existing habit. For example, use the time when you’re waiting for your coffee or tea to brew, which is often part of a regular morning routine, to stand on one foot to practice your balance or to engage in a two- to five-minute meditation practice.
2. Start with tiny habits – Big behaviour changes often can’t be sustained, but starting small to make the new habit as easy as possible is a great way to get motivated. For example, going for a brisk walk or doing 20 star jumps every day could lead to the beginning of an exercise routine.
3. Stick to it – New habits can take a long time to create; however, they can form a lot faster when we stick to them, so it’s best to start with something that’s easy enough to do. For example, you’re more likely to stick to the habit of drinking water with your meals if you have your water bottle with you and remember to keep it filled up.
4. Make it easy on yourself – We are more likely to form a new habit if there’s nothing getting in our way and all obstacles have been cleared. For example, you might be more likely to get to the gym in the morning if your gym bag is already packed and waiting by the door or go for a morning run if your running clothes are laid out the night before.
5. Congratulate or reward yourself – An important part of forming new habits includes acknowledging the steps you’re taking and/or rewarding yourself. Some common habits have instant rewards, such as having fresh breath after brushing your teeth. However, other rewards, such as physical changes from sustained exercise, can take longer to appear. It helps to reward yourself to keep the motivation going; for instance, watching your favourite TV show while on the treadmill or getting a coffee with a friend after a walk together.

If you’re struggling with breaking old habits and forming new healthy ones, or you’re not sure where to start with your nutrition and/or physical fitness needs, Teladoc Health’s Wellness Service offers consultations with Accredited Practicing Dietitians and Accredited Practicing Exercise Physiologists and Physiotherapists who can help you on your wellness journey and motivate and support you to start creating good habits.

If you would like to book a consultation but are unsure if you can access Teladoc Health services, submit a form here, and a Member Engagement Coordinator will respond shortly.

References:

1. www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/well/mind/how-to-build-healthy-habits.html

2. www.healthdirect.gov.au/creating-healthy-habits