Habits Habits Habits!!!

What has been the hardest part of my journey (and probably for a lot of other people too)?

It's not just the exercising or the eating right....but what I have found is the biggest hurdle when it comes to exercising and eating right is developing the HABIT of exercising and eating right!

So do I slip up....YES!!!

Will you slip up sometimes...YES!!!

But can you get back on track...ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

So what's the best way to handle this issue?

It is said that it takes twenty-one days to form a habit, but how can you stick to your task during those twenty-one days?

The answer is actually a lot easier than you think!

I have found that habit forming can be achieved by sticking to 3 easy little tips...reminder, routine, and reward.

Reminder

The reminder is the most important step. The reminder is the kick start to get your habit formed!
For me personally, with a house full of girls plus a husband, it's so easy to get caught up in the day to day things like cooking, cleaning, laundering, that I sometimes will get in bed, and realize I didn't work out today!!!!

So how did I remedy the situation?

I schedule in my workouts. Until working out becomes a part of my everyday life, my calendar everyday has my PumpUp workouts scheduled. So everyday around five PM, my phone begins to lose its mind!! Because I get so busy and caught up in things, I have it set to go off several times, until I finally actually log the work out in my Nexercise.

By scheduling my workouts, it really helps me to stay on track!

Another way to be reminded of my workouts is by having an accountability partner. One of my best friends has been sort of designated as my "drill sergeant"! Everyday, she sends me a text or Facebook message checking in to make sure that I have done my workout for the day. This helps me a bunch, because I hate to let people down. So when I put it out there that I am on a journey, it helps that others know, because they then become motivation for me in a sense to keep at it!

Routine

Getting in the routine of your new lifestyle, is going to be the hardest. The routine is the actual habit! When I first decided that I wanted to grow closer to God, the first thing I had to do was remind myself through a prayer app, and after a few weeks, it became a routine. I get up in the morning, make sure everyone is off to school and while my 2 year old is still asleep, I have my Bible study time and my prayer time. That has become my morning routine. Now there are times when "life" happens and I get thrown off, but because my prayer and study time is now a habit, I sort of just fit it in later in the day.

I'm learning with my workouts to do the same. Since I have my workouts scheduled a certain time a day, after some time it will become a routine. There are days when I'm busy already and can't quite get it in at the scheduled time, but that's okay, like my prayer time, I find time later.

I'm learning when you have a house full of kids, a husband, getting in the habit of a routine is super beneficial and can definitely make life a little bit easier.

Reward

The reward is the benefit you gain by doing the habit. If you set yourself a positive reward, then you will eventually gain the desire to complete your task, whatever it may be, at the scheduled time.

You can set a long term reward for reaching a goal or a short term reward by reaching a goal daily, weekly, or monthly.

Forming a habit isn't always going to be easy, but don't condemn yourself if and when you mess up. The key to success, is picking yourself up and continuing and not giving up! PERSEVERE (remember)!!

In my next blog, I will talk more about the changes I have made in my life thus far and my success and failures in this first month! (I can't believe it's almost been a month!)

I urge you to continue on your journey, and continue to form good habits both physically and spiritually.

Remember prayer changes things, when it gets tough, turn to God, He can get you back on track!

Until next week....be blessed!!

:)