Let’s agree! We all strive to make better health choices every day. Some fail, some work; in the end, what matters is whether we are making progress. Even small changes can have a significant impact on your health in due course. However, making habits or changes is always the most challenging task. Don’t worry! We are always here to help you.

There are many blogs about good habits, but very little about the process of adopting them. The beauty of good habits is that they are a motivating factor in their own right. The rewards of good habits enable us to work more diligently towards that goal.

Here are three top tips to help you develop good health habits

• Bad is good!

There’s always something that you’re working particularly hard on. It could be weight loss, better dental hygiene, or skin care or anything. Talk to yourself about the negative effects it has had or will have. This is similar to the concept of ‘tough love’, which will eventually prepare you for change because you don’t want to be affected by the negative effects. This plays a huge role in making yourself understand why it is reasonable and necessary. For example, if you are trying to switch to organic clothing, list the positive effects of it as well as the negative effects of conventional clothing.

• Goalkeeper

It is important that you pick up something that you can practice over time. Don’t get obsessed with shortcuts or pursue things that are unsustainable for you personally. Focus on behavioural changes, one after the other. I know we’re all in a moment of dissatisfaction and want to suddenly change a lot of things about us – go through there! Sadly, none of this is going to be part of your life on a good morning. You have to replace a good habit with a good habit. You should also understand that you can’t be perfect and that we are all prone to making mistakes. If you find yourself failing a few times, don’t be hard on yourself. Instead, analyse what went wrong on your end and come up with a solution.

• Short and sweet

Set achievable short-term goals. The happiness of success will motivate you to go further. As mentioned earlier, the motivational factor is important. You can even cheer up by giving rewards when you achieve your goals. Watch out for rewards and don’t let your mind go back to old or bad habits. You can also tell others to check up on you. This will keep you in line. However, choose someone who will support you and understand your goals. Give yourself some time, because forming habits is a process that takes time. It changes everything.

Know your triggers and avoid them. This is a great way to reduce failure. It’s more like taking preventative measures. Do everything you can to change your environment to stop old habits. Also, don’t change too many things as you may get frustrated after a bit and leave everything immediately. Start small and be smart. Read a lot about the habit and then choose the habit that works best for you. Don’t try to exceed expectations initially. As you get used to the habits, you won’t see it as a burden. When you reach that stage, you can focus on shifting your goals to something better.

As my mother said, remember, it’s all for your own good and happiness. All that is needed is the willpower and perseverance to form new habits. As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Take that first step now and enjoy a better way of life.