Fall Into a New Season
As the seasons change, it’s not uncommon to fall to the wayside with your health and wellness goals. This becomes especially true when the change in season implies that the weather is becoming less desirable rather than more so.
Less-than-desirable climates and frigid temperatures come with it a myriad of bad decisions and poor habits that can have a drastic impact on not only the progress we’ve made to date but on our overall health and well-being at large.
With a new season soon upon us, it’s important to remain vigilant with our decisions and habits, ensuring that we stay on track as best we can, not only for our own health and well-being but for those around us as well.
In this article, my aim is to simply provide you with quick but effective tips for falling into the new season so that you can continue to be the best version of yourself, whatever that may look like for you!
Tips for Staying on Track This Season
Whether your intentions are to remain active, avoid becoming sedentary, or simply continue eating healthy, sticking to your habits and achieving your goals throughout the change in season doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it should be fun, enjoyable, and above all else, attainable.
Too often, however, we as humans tend to venture toward lofty goals only to become overwhelmed with the task at hand. That, or we allow the occasion to impact us so heavily that we fail to take any sort of action, instead finding ourselves in a rut that we can’t dig ourselves out of.
Well, I’m here to tell you that whichever the case may be, it’s okay and it is possible to become or remain the best version of ourselves, no matter the challenges in front of us…
Be Specific With Your Goals & Habits
Have you ever heard of SMART goals? Simply, it’s an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
By defining your goals and objectives with specificity and avoiding generalized statements, you provide yourself with a roadmap toward achievement. Through measurable action steps and accountability, healthy habits can remain and unhealthy habits can be averted!
Set ONE Goal or Habit at a Time
As discussed earlier, we’ve all experienced moments of inspiration where we create a laundry list of lofty goals only to fail in a short period of time.
To avoid such a common mistake when entering into a new season, aim to set and stick to only one large goal or habit and use the SMART goal-setting tactic to ensure its success.
Rather than creating more overwhelm than what’s already present in your day-to-day life, give yourself permission to focus not on everything but on one overarching habit of importance. Then and only then should you implement the next…
Seek Out a Support System
Have you ever heard the saying “it takes a village”?
A reliable and loving support system can often be the missing piece you’ve needed to stay on track and continue along your journey of self-care and improvement.
If you’ve set a goal of any meaning or value, you’re likely going to experience times of overwhelm and difficulty along the way. A solid support system aids in filling the gap when times get tough, encouraging you in times of wanting to give up and celebrating you in times of accomplishment.
Learn to Enjoy the Journey
Nothing is worth pursuing if not for the enjoyment of the journey itself.
Too often, however, we get caught up in the task or habit itself, ultimately failing to see the journey for what it is, instead focusing on the destination. This is the wrong way to go about entering into a new season…
Instead, learn to enjoy the journey, for it's truly all that matters. Not only will it make the goal or habit worth pursuing, but it will make the achievement that much sweeter.
The journey is long-lasting; the destination is simply fleeting.