Implementing Long-Term Lifestyle Changes: An Overview

Interested in learning how to effectively implement life-long habits?

An important place to start is breaking things down into do-able chunks instead of combining multiple steps together that can become overwhelming or at least seem that way.

Trouble with sticking to a particular way of eating? Difficulty implementing and sticking to an exercise program? Issues with following through doing something you tell yourself and/or others you want to do?

Instead of shoving the whole apple in your mouth (because we all know it works so well to eat an apple in this manner...), try taking a bite of the apple, chewing it well, swallowing, and then take another bite, chew it well, swallow it, and so on. By making a small change first and following through with that change until you get pretty good at it, THEN adding another change and sticking with it until you get pretty good at it, THEN adding another and another, you set yourself up for success and for life-long changes instead of the yo-yo effect so many of us experience because we can't maintain (effectively "chew") everything we try to implement at once.

The above description is really just a starting point. It goes a ways towards lasting change, but without the other aspect I describe next, it can still be surface change rather than deep, core change.
 
The bigger part of the process of true, lasting change is examining the underlying beliefs that we may or may not be aware of. By doing things such as setting a goal and implementing individual steps to reach that goal, then following each individual step and doing it whether we want to in the moment or not to reach said goal, we have the opportunity to learn things about our beliefs and who we really are at our very core. We also have the opportunity to learn from the times when we don't do what we say we want to do. Actually, not doing what we say we want to do holds tremendous potential for growth because there is typically a contradictory core belief to that stated want/belief/goal. When someone can identify that core belief, they then have the potential to begin to see where it affects their thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors, which can then lead to developing self-control in those areas by choosing to do something different than what they have typically done in the past. It is this aspect of change that has an even greater impact than the changed habit itself.

Think in terms of someone who says they want to eat better and more healthy. Take someone who has followed the recommendations of the past 50-60 years and eaten the standard American diet. Helping them understand that a diet that high in carbohydrates is not healthy requires a complete paradigm shift and change in mindset. The core beliefs, everything they have been told for the past many years, is called into question. If they aren't willing to look at those beliefs and challenge those beliefs, they will not be successful in implementing long-term change because they won't truly believe in what they are doing. No amount of small, do-able habits will last over a lifetime unless something happens that changes the core belief.

Looking at it from another perspective...sometimes people can have all the information they need to do something different and they still go back to doing what they usually do because that is what feels familiar to them. In this case, think about a woman who is in an abusive relationship who either stays with or keeps going back to the abuser. What keeps her there or going back? It is those core beliefs that she most likely isn't aware of...her unworthiness, her helplessness, her hopelessness, her "badness", her "insert many more descriptors here." Whether it was her upbringing or a series of bad choices or something else, until she becomes aware of what is going on inside of her, until she gets pushed to a breaking point, until something highly emotional snaps her out of wherever she is, she will not leave that situation or she will find herself in a similar situation again. Understand, I am not faulting her. I am highlighting patterns that present themselves many times in situations like these. It is because she sees so little value in herself, has little to no self-worth, etc., that she doesn't see any other way. For her to be successful in leaving and staying away from an existing abusive relationship, and to stay out of a future abusive relationship, it is vital that she identify and challenge those core beliefs that feed worthlessness, lack of value, helplessness, hopelessness, etc.

Obviously, this is a difficult task for someone to undertake on their own, whether it is something such as leaving an abusive relationship, something such as changing eating habits or implementing an exercise program, something such as leaving a miserable job and finding a better job, or any number of other things. It is important that they have someone who can help them identify those things. They don't need someone to tell them what to do; they need someone who will help them discover for themselves so that they have ownership of the new discoveries.

We have a tendency to think in terms of all-or-nothing when what can help us reach our goals more effectively is thinking and doing in terms of small steps of progress.

For instance, many times when people want to get rid of weight, they throw themselves into a particular way of eating and manage to follow that way of eating for a few days, or a few weeks, or for some, even a few months. Inevitably, though, the initial motivation to follow said way of eating to reach a particular goal weight is often lost over those first few days, few weeks, or few months and people return to their original way of doing things. Then, something sparks an interest or a need or a should inside of them and they go after their weight again, only to fall back into old patterns and ways of doing things once again. This is true in more than just getting rid of weight, but it is a predominant example that many people can relate to.

So, how do you make life-long lifestyle changes? The answer is simple. Stop the all-or-nothing thinking and doing! Yes, it's that simple. That doesn't mean the solution is easy, though. It takes a complete shift in mindset to begin to effect life-long changes.

Here is an example outside of getting rid of weight...

I had been doing a plank workout once a week for about 8 weeks. It was a 15 minute workout that I had to really work to convince myself I wanted to do just one time per week. I really wanted to be doing a plank workout everyday, but when I thought in terms of how hard I had to motivate myself to do the 15 minute workout, I knew I would not follow through with an everyday plank workout if I kept trying to do it the way I was. I had some thinking to do and I had to be honest with myself in that thinking.

A couple things I know about me...

 

If I want to get something done that I have to motivate myself to do, it is important that it is one of the first things I do when I wake up.

When I jump in head first and go after something in an all-or-nothing manner, I will become overwhelmed and I will quit.

With these things in mind, I decided that at soon as I woke up in the morning, I would grab my watch, get it set to a strength workout, go to a designated spot in my home to do my planks, do xxx amount of planks for xxx amount of time per plank with recovery in between for a total of 5 minutes. Now, 5 minutes doesn't seem like a long time, but to set myself up for success, I knew it was the place for me to start.

The entire first week I did 2 planks held for 45 seconds and 2 push-up planks held for 30 seconds with recovery in between and I finished in 5 minutes. When I thought I might like to up the time of any of the plank holds, I did not. The reason I didn't is because I was still fighting with myself to get down and do them in the first place. It was not time, yet, to up anything. I needed time to develop success over the first week doing exactly what I was doing.

Week 2, I upped the time I was holding the push-up planks to 45 seconds and maintained the 45 second hold on the traditional planks. This took my workout to about 5 and 1/2 minutes. Again, anytime I was tempted to increase anything, I made the choice to keep the workout the same length so that I reinforced within myself the success at that level.

Week 3, I increased the time of the traditional planks to a full minute and maintained the 45 seconds for push-up planks. My overall time now is just over 6 and 1/2 minutes. This week is dedicated to working within this amount of time to, again, reinforce success.

Week 4 I will increase the push-up planks to a full 60 seconds while maintaining 60 seconds in the traditional planks.

Taking these seemingly baby steps in progress has helped motivate me to do my workout every morning and I am becoming less begrudging about it. I haven't yet started looking forward to it, but I know that is around the corner based on my previous experiences in how I respond when I do something whether I want to or not because I know that doing it supports my life-long lifestyle change goals.

Applying small habit changes to eating can be as simple as choosing to eat mindfully at every meal, meaning not doing anything else while you are eating like watching TV or playing on the computer; slowing down and chewing your food more slowly; conversing with friends/family over a meal and taking time to eat; allowing the satiation signals to get from your stomach to your brain that say, "Hey, I'm getting full! It's time to stop."; actually tasting your food instead of inhaling it; taking smaller bites to slow you down.

These are but a few of the options that can get you started with life-long lifestyle changes that support long-term success through small, do-able steps that support continual progress. If you have any questions, ask in the comment section and I will respond. If you want to share some of your experiences in all-or-nothing thinking/doing or experiences in taking small steps toward your goals, please do!