Health & Wellbeing
through the door
23
Small steps to reach your goal By Heather Smith
When making what could be a pretty significant lifestyle change, one of the many reasons people fall off the wagon is confidence. Making a big change can feel like a huge opportunity to fail. Instead, try making changes which are so easy, it’s almost impossible not to make them. What could you do this week to take you a step closer to your overall goal? And how confident are you that you can do those things? If you’re not completely convinced, take it back a bit until it feels ridiculously easy to achieve. Set yourself up to succeed. Let’s say you’re a bad vegetable eater, and you’re aiming to improve your health. Of course, eating 8 portions of veg every day is going to get you closer to your goal. But that feels like a really big commitment which you’re not sure you could make long term. How about including one vegetable with each of your meals this week? If that is a step
forward from where you are now, but seems so easy you couldn’t fail, then you have your starting point. If it still feels like too much, don’t be afraid to step it back even further. You’re aiming for guaranteed success, which will leave you feeling good about yourself. Now you have had a positive experience in moving towards your goal, it becomes easier to take another step. Next week, you might feel like it is so easy to get one vegetable with each meal, that you feel totally confident you could actually increase to two vegetables with dinner every night. Other times, it might take longer to get really comfortable with the change before you’re ready to move on. Often, the slow route is the route which leads to the longest lasting changes. Aim for repeated positive interactions with your goal. Be kind to yourself. Take things slowly and celebrate each victory, however small, along the way. Heather Smith is a fat loss specialist Personal Trainer. Get in touch for a free five-day meal plan www.fitbiztraining.co.uk
