Motivate Yourself by Listing What You Are Already Doing Right.
When we focus on improving our health, we often get in our minds a list of things we don’t do: I need to exercise , I need to drink more water , I need to eat a vegetable someday . But what about the healthy habits you’re already doing? There are probably more than zero of them.
It’s not some silly feel-good tactic like writing “make a to-do list” at the top of your to-do list and crossing it out. (Although, to be honest? There is nothing wrong with making yourself laugh when you start a scary job. I am a proponent of stupid things that make you feel good.) This is based on a well-accepted psychological theory. We enhance our self-efficacy.
Self – efficacy is your belief that you can handle it. (Whatever it is.) Think about how you feel when you do something that you are good at and that you have done countless times before: you are confident, you are probably in a good mood, just thinking about this and you know you are going to nail it.
If you’re a runner, you probably feel this way when you head out for your Tuesday morning run. But if you don’t consider yourself a runner, this is all new and inconvenient, right? You don’t know if you can get through one run, let alone a new habit that you hope to acquire.
However, the good news is that you can achieve self-efficacy in many ways. And one of those ways is to look back at what you have done well in the past. Even if you haven’t developed your running habit yet, you can look at the habits you have acquired . Maybe you walk your dog every day. Maybe you’re already making yourself healthy meals. Maybe you manage to go to bed on time, at least sometimes. They can all be on your list.
As you look through this list, you will see that you have victories, even if they are small. Give them their due! Then ask yourself how you can set yourself up for more wins and start gaining momentum.