Break it Down!

So...you wanna lose weight, run a 5k, run a marathon, lift heavier weight, be a better friend, quit smoking, eat more veggies and the list goes on. As we sit back and review our lives and get brainy ideas of what we would like to have or accomplish, we see the end goal but are not always sure how to actually get there. This thought can become very heavy, weigh us down and keep us planted in our tracks. Which then adds "proof" to our already long standing belief of, "I'm a failure and this will never happen for me. I'm destined to remain like this the rest of my life." Sound familiar to anyone?

Today let's talk about breaking that big picture down into do-able chunks.  Start by listing what things  you are currently already doing to get you to your outcome.  Then, create a list of what habits will be necessary to add into your life in order for your outcome to happen.  Lastly, you can also create a list of things you may want to eliminate.  I am All about building on strengths and encourage the first list to come first!  I am also about adding in more "good" things rather than taking away things that will put us farther into "I have to Sacrifice" mode. My belief says that when we add more good we are automatically more motivated to start eliminating the "less good" things that keep us from our desired outcomes.

Now that you have your lists, or whatever you want to call them, let's take a look at one or two items where we can break it down. (every time I write break it down, I see MC Hammer and his hammer pants and the song pops into my head.  Yep, there it is is yours now too.  Sweet!) There!  We just added one thing into the plan of reaching your desired outcome...FUN!  Ok, enough dancing for now and back to business.

Take the item(s) you've chosen and let's get them really simple. You wanna eat more veggies...start by adding one baby carrot. Totally simple and easy to do.  Now create a trigger to assist you in getting that baby carrot eaten.  The trigger can be a meal.  For example, with dinner...eat one baby carrot.  Or...after each meal...eat a baby carrot. After you eat the baby carrot do a fist pump and say, "I Am Awesome!"  The cool part of this is...it may seem silly at first to say I Am Awesome, but before you know it...you actually believe You Are Awesome.   As you do this, you will build the habit and more than likely, find the motivation to eat a few baby carrots after each meal.  How cool is that?!  You can go from eating 3 baby carrots a day to eating 20 a day.  Shazam...carrot eating conquered!  Motivation to do more comes as you create the little successes and feel the power behind them. Oh how I Love to Celebrate Wins!!

Wanna do more push-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc? Here is a funny example I read from the creator of Tiny Habits. He wanted to do more push-ups, so...every time he went to the bathroom he would do 2 push-ups.  He went from doing approx 10/day to 60ish/day.  How would that change things for you?  Remember to wash your hands!  :)

The Break it Down into simple, do-able steps can be done with anything. How do you eat an elephant? You guessed it, one tiny bite at a time. The next question is, "why would you want too?" The "Why" is another good  question to ask yourself about your desired outcomes.  So...decide on your desired outcome, create your lists, choose one or two things and...Break it Down.  Insert dancing here!  Have fun with this!  I am aware this is the nutshell version, so...if you would like some assistance with this fun project, contact us at Mountain View Hospital's Health and Fitness Academy.

Until Next Time...
Go Be Great!

Jennifer Saunders
BS,  ButtinGear Trail Running
Ace Certified Personal Trainer
Reiki Energy Therapy
Intuitive Life Coach