We all love the feeling of something new. A new year, a new start. 2018 brings in a lot of opportunities for everyone. This is to all the classy ladies out there, who want to bring about new changes in their life. We all have been through that stage when we actually vow to ourselves every new start, that we would eat better, exercise more, drink enough water, write a diary and finally end up breaking them all. Then you just give up on your hopes. Well, where is the problem?
The fact that most of us ignore is that our willpower is like a muscle. As one keeps using it daily, it builds in strength but do you remember what happened to yourself when you previously determined yourself that you would stick to your diet? You possibly went on a super-strict diet that used your willpower heavily each time you restrained yourself from having piece of chocolate. You actually made your willpower muscle wear out.
It’s always better to start off small, just a step. If you are already running out on your willpower to start on a new plan. Then use the 1-minute Japanese technique to gradually build and fuel your will. All you have to do is decide on a list of things or just a thing you want to do, for example exercise or eat healthy. Decide that you will start to exercise at least for a minute even if you are in a big rush or that you will eat at least one bowl of veggies each day. This way you will always find a way to sneak in that habit without breaking it some fine day. Who hasn’t got one minute to spare? Eventually you can impress yourself by increasing the time spent each day. In case some days you haven’t spent a lot of time but just a minute, it still counts and means you have exercised regularly without missing on occasional days.
Another way to ensure that you always take the right choice is to wear two bands on your wrist, one that says yes and the other with the word no. This way each time you need to make a decision whether to order that pizza or not, you can have a look at your hands and you are more likely to say no. This happens because it puts us in a stage of visual decision making, it’s more like you hit the cross roads of life, one direction pointing towards the fit-you and the other to the obese-you and you are more likely to make healthier and better decisions when you think the situation in under your control and in your hands. So, it makes you feel responsible for yourself as you can’t blame others or the brochure that made you drool.
Mini tip: Place a bottle of water on your phone, so that you each time you reach out to your phone, you are actually reminded of hydrating yourself.
nSneha Punna
