Feelings Fitness Podcast
Feelings Fitness Podcast
216. Cultivating Enduring Practices for Year-Round Wellness
As we bid farewell to October on Feelings Fitness Monday, we're not just turning a page on the calendar—we're reinforcing a year's worth of transformative habits that have nestled into the corners of our homes and hearts. This episode isn't merely a reflection; it's a consolidation of our year-long journey, where I share nuggets of wisdom from history's greats like Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln, and arm you with strategies that ensure the habits we've cultivated continue to thrive.
Uncover the secrets behind making habits stick, as I reveal practical tips ranging from the power of a 30-day challenge to the simplicity of starting with an effortless task like making your bed. It's an episode filled with motivation, recommendations for impactful reads such as 'The One Thing' and 'Atomic Habits', and the subtle art of turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones. For seasoned listeners and newcomers alike, join me for a session that's all about stoking the fires of habituation and setting the stage for continued health and happiness in the coming year.
Welcome to the Feelings Fitness Podcast. Let's flash back to 2023, when we took a 52 week road trip together to discuss home health, happiness and habits. We created a road trip to work towards feeling fit mind, body and spirit. Now we'll revisit those 52 weeks in just 52 days. There are many more adventures in store for 2024, but let's look back on how far we've come and set ourselves up for more success.
Speaker 1:It's our final Monday of October, which means it's our final discussion around habits at home. Next month we'll be discussing health habits. So this home stretch of our road trip through 2023 is really more about revisiting ideas we've already discussed as opposed to introducing anything new. That being said, I'd highly recommend going back to previous episodes throughout this season. In episodes 103 to 115, we discussed home, 116 through 128, health and 129 through 137, happiness, and then in the month of September, it was all fall fresh start and, in that month, 138 through 144, home, 145 through 151, health and 152 through 158, happiness, with a recap of it all in 159. So visit those episodes or check them out if you haven't already.
Speaker 1:If you've been with me all year, you know that all of these episodes are short and to the point. No fluffy stuff this season. Our habits can really make us or break us in all areas of life General habit resources ahead. So, as you know, I love quotes. So a few quotes. For us, the secret of getting ahead is getting started, mark Twain. Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. Henry Ford, destiny is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice. William Jennings Bryan Good things come to those who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them. Abraham Lincoln. And one of the secrets of life is making stepping stones out of stumbling blocks. Jack Penn. And if you've been with me for a while, you know that I don't only love quotes, but I also love some good books to reference as well. So a few of them on my bookshelf that have to do with habits, starting out with the One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and Atomic Habits by James Clear. All right, and then you know that I love some good tips and tricks. So some tips and tricks for making a habit stick.
Speaker 1:One commit to it for 30 days. The idea is just kind of to make it simple. But I also like to really be thoughtful of this one, though, because sometimes, when you put an actual end date on things, you then revert back to the old habits after you're done. For example, if you set the goal of running a marathon, you implement all of these great habits, you do all them, then you run the marathon and then next thing you know that's the end and you're back to your old ways. So I will say committing to something for something like 30 days to set into that habit, but don't put an end date on it per se. Two make it daily and be consistent with it. Three start simple. I like to talk about this like dopamine snowball effect, like you do something simple like making the bed and it gives you an easy win and it makes you wanna clean out the refrigerator, and then that's an easy win and then you wanna go clean out the garage. I feel like one simple, small win can really snowball into some other healthy habits moving forward.
Speaker 1:Four remind yourself. Maybe have a phrase that brings you back to your healthy habit. Five find a friend. The buddy system is always key. Six form a trigger or a ritual. So a trigger might be something like you snap your fingers and then it's go get a glass of water, or a ritual like maybe you wake up in the morning. The same exact way every time.
Speaker 1:Seven remove temptations. Oh my goodness, get the junk food out of the house. Or, if it comes to perhaps your cell phone out of sight while you're doing the work Like even just having it in your line of sight can tempt you to pick it up and distract you and get you out of whatever healthy habit that you are focusing on. Like sometimes I know I'll have my cell phone on the Peloton bike with me and it's really a bad idea. I mean, I do it because I feel like it's hard to disconnect when the kids aren't with me, in case there's a call from the school or whatever. But the reality is, like having it there, I really have to work very, very hard to not pick it up and shoot off a quits text or check an email anticipating an email coming in. So, whatever it may be, the idea is kind of like remove those temptations, get the cell phone out of your way, get the junk food out of your house, whatever it may be.
Speaker 1:Number eight I like this one and this might not work for everyone. But I learned this one from Marie Forleo, and she uses this catchphrase of I don't do blank. So her example, which I absolutely love and I actually use it often too, is I don't do overwhelm, and there's something about the psychology behind that particular phrase that can keep you in a positive frame of mind. So test it out. Might work for you, might not, but it's always worth a try. Nine find a role model. I also like to think about creating an alter ego. This one was super fun. There's a book called Alter Ego by Todd Herman, and there's this whole psychology around actually creating an alter ego. That can be the one that really keeps you in these positive habits.
Speaker 1:10, write it down. As we know if you've been with me for a while I use this example all the time that, statistically speaking, goals that are written down or habits that are written down are more likely to be achieved. And finally, know your why. This one I actually think that that's a book too. I can't really remember, but knowing your why is so so huge. If you are solid on your why, you will much more likely stick to a healthy habit. So know your why. So your task for this week is simply to think about habits and implementing healthy habits not only at home, but in life in general. Check out one of the books that I mentioned to really kickstart this process. I hope you're enjoying 52 weeks and 52 days a compact version of the transformational road trip we took through 2023. We're revisiting those 52 episodes and it's a review of home health, happiness and the habits that guide the way to feeling fit mind, body and spirit. It's also a food for thought for how you want to feel.