Staying motivated throughout the new year

While they always start with great inspiration, it’s a sad reality that most new year’s resolutions die by the end of the month.  This is of course typically due to a loss of motivation once the holiday glow wears off and life gets back to the daily grind.    

And let’s be real, recent national events have not exactly been favorable to the success of many people’s well-intentioned “dry January” attempts.

So whatever our resolutions may be, whether they are to overhaul our diets and stop eating junk, to start eating vegetables, to exercise more, to cut down on alcohol, to minimize our unnecessary clutter, or to spend more distraction-free time with loved ones, when it comes to making our healthy lifestyle changes last, what can we do to keep ourselves not just motivated, but consistently FIRED UP?

I’ve learned a few things over the years that have been very effective for me in my efforts to stay motivated to eat as healthy as I can, make good overall lifestyle choices, and live a life of simplicity.  Hopefully you’ll find these ideas helpful too.

• Have a consistent “diet” of motivational input - For me this means I frequently read books on nutrition and wellness throughout the year.  I also read other blogs and articles related to wellness, disease, healthy foods, minimalism, etc.  I watch relevant documentaries on a regular basis (there are some great ones on Netflix and Amazon prime).  While I’m cooking or cleaning I put on my wireless headphones and listen to health/wellness/lifestyle podcasts.  There are a zillion of them out there now so choose wisely, but ones with good information and interesting conversation can be incredibly motivating.

• Get some accountability - I’ve never been a fan of the whole “accountability partner” thing where you have to make specific commitments and then answer to someone about them, because I feel like that runs more on guilt than motivation, but there are less intense ways to use accountability as a motivator.  Simply by casually telling family members and friends about your desires, plans, and goals can be very motivating because then they can become your cheerleader (and not your coach or boss).  You can also hold yourself accountable in gentle ways, such as starting a journal where you write on the regular about the things you are doing to make positive changes. Going back to read what you wrote and see how far you’ve come can motivate you to keep going.

• Find like-minded friends - along these same lines, nothing gets me more fired up then talking to the people in my life who share the same values when it comes to wellness. Not all of the people I spend time with share my values of course, but I have a handful of them who really do, and who are always willing and eager to talk endlessly with me about wellness, nutrition, minimalism, spiritual thoughts, etc.  Whenever I spend time with those friends I leave the interaction totally pumped up (and usually with at least an awesome new recipe or yoga pose to try).  

• Occasionally read the bad news - while I will usually preach consuming positive information for our mental health’s sake, sometimes we just need to look at the cold hard facts - we are a nation filled with sick and dying people.  This was true long before COVID arrived.  Reading the statistics can sometimes bring a new wave of motivation when we are reminded that we don’t want to become just that, a statistic.  Fear can sometimes be our friend, and it can be one of the most powerful motivators there is.

• Visualize the result of poor choices - again this one is quite negative but super motivating.  For me, falling off the whole foods wagon when presented with a gooey, sugary, gluten-filled donut might sound appealing in a moment of weakness, but taking a second to think about and visualize myself being bloated and feeling super sick after eating it, not to mention visualizing the definitive damage it would do to my immune system, will trigger enough motivation to just say no every time. 

• Visualize the result of healthy choices - on a more positive note, you can also visualize the short and long term effects of good choices for motivation.  For example, thinking about how good I will feel after completing a long walk or a good yoga class often motivates me to not skip exercise time.  And thinking about the abundant health benefits of that broccoli or spinach bite I’m taking motivates me to eat nutritious veggies as often as possible.  

• Visualize the future healthy you - Can you tell I’m a fan of visualization? What you do today impacts what your life is like tomorrow, what you do tomorrow impacts your life the next day, and so on, and so on.  Focusing on the long game can be very inspiring, especially on days when you want to quit.  If healthy food choices are your goal, then visualizing yourself a year or decade from now so much healthier, feeling so much better, having less reason to fear disease, being able to keep up with your kids, etc. can give you a big boost.  For another example, if your goal is to declutter and downsize your possessions, visualizing your home as the peaceful, clutter-free, safe haven you want it to be can keep you on track.

• Remember your “why” - My “why” is most certainly my most powerful and effective motivator. I never want to be held captive by a terrible disease again, and while I can never guarantee that won’t happen, I can do whatever is in my power to prevent that from happening.  Determine your “why” then write it in your journal, post it on the mirror, make it the background on your phone or computer’s home screen, or, for crying out loud, get a tattoo of it.  Do whatever you need to do to never forget your why.

Major lifestyle changes take time and regular effort and definitely require lots of motivation, especially in the beginning.  Remember, we are not talking about short term goals, we are talking about permanent alterations to the way we live our lives.  It will be so hard but it will be so worth it, and it does get easier, especially once we figure out what truly motivates us.  

Don’t let any more time go by living with unhealthy habits.  This is the year, this is the month, today is the day!