What to Focus on First if You Want Your Wellness Habits to Stick
- Janna Ross
- Jan 18
- 3 min read
There is a part of the goal setting process that often gets looked over or pushed to the side as not all that important.
When we're flying on the wings of motivation and determination we feel like we can vault over, dodge around, break straight through any obstacle that comes our way. It feels pretty good to be really motivated honestly. And it's great to use it as a springboard.
However, you need to know what to focus on first if you want your wellness habits to stick well past motivation fizzling out and that's...
The reality of what your life is right now.
Not how many steps you should be getting a day.
Not how many times you're going to work out each week.
Not what foods you're going to cut out (cough cough this should be none cough).
Not looking up what the best diet is (there isn't one).
Not looking up which supplements you should be taking (let's focus on the basics first anyway).
But instead ask yourself these questions:
With the responsibilities I currently have between work, family, friends, and more what healthy habits can I work in realistically?
Which ONE of those can I start now?
What are possible barriers to building that habit and what steps will I take to manage those barriers?
What kind of support do I have in place for encouragement and accountability?
Make the actions you're going to take fit the reality of your life so that you don't go too hard, too fast, and fizzle out quicker than that unfortunate time I was trying to start a campfire with damp wood.
If you have a busy life with a lot of responsibilities and expectations, then you're going to be approaching a weight loss goal of 50 pounds differently than someone who has less responsibilities and lots of open time to do what they want.
If you're completely new to fitness, you're going to approach putting on 5 pounds of muscle much differently than someone who has been lifting for the last 5 years.
Both of you can achieve the ultimate goal of losing weight or putting on muscle, but the ways in which you each do it are going to differ. The amount of time needed is also going to differ.
And that's completely okay.
Don't try to force yourself to do something that doesn't make sense for your real life responsibilities. If you do, you'll only end up overwhelmed, stressed, and will likely burn out. You'll miss a workout, eat something you "shouldn't", or miss your step goal then completely unravel because "you're a failure" and try to overcorrect or go completely off the wagon. And that will keep you stuck in the cycle of starting-stopping-starting-stopping.
You'll get much further when you set a realistic plan AND keep going when imperfection happens- cuz it will.
OH! Also, you'll get much further when you cut the shit self-talk because the THOUGHTS you have around your missteps are what actually create the problem which I talk about more in my post It's Not the Cookies- it's Your Self-Talk.
Helping my clients set realistic goals and create an action plan that makes sense for their real life is part of what I do as a personal trainer and coach. Interested in how I could help you? Send an email to janna@jl-wellness.com and let's talk about it!
Here are some more recommended posts that will help you make consistent progress towards your goals:
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