Making huge, sweeping changes to your lifestyle isn’t usually a good idea. Most people are creatures of habit and want to stick to familiar routines, swapping out the odd thing here and there.
So, what can you do to make your shift in lifestyle more manageable? Which steps should you take?
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Add foods, don’t subtract them
One of the best ways to change your lifestyle is to add foods instead of subtracting them. If you start with a deficit mindset, then you’re more likely to feel deprived. If you tell yourself you’re going to eat new, healthy, whole foods and as much of them as you want, then you won’t fall into the same trap.
You can often get tremendous results by simply switching your diet to something that’s more filling. This way, you’re not constantly craving sweets or reaching for the cookie jar.
Upgrade one meal
On a similar theme, you could upgrade one meal at a time. For example, let’s say your breakfast is usually some sort of sugary cereal. You could easily transition to oatmeal with berries and nuts pretty quickly.
The same is true for lunch. On a Sunday afternoon, you could prepare your lunches for the week in the space of maybe an hour, saving yourself both time and money.
Audit your digital consumption
When you get the chance, you can also adjust your lifestyle by auditing your digital consumption. Look at when you’re using devices and how they are affecting you. Try not to fall into the trap of doom scrolling, and instead focus on things that enable you to move closer to your goals.
One idea is to put a 30-minute boundary on your phone usage around bedtime. This allows you to wind down and get more quality sleep.
Change your habits
If you have some bad habits that have crept into your life, then it’s a good idea to change one of them, again, step by step. Don’t go for a massive life-changing overhaul unless you’re completely prepared and ready for it.
For example, you could opt for a 2 gram vape cart instead of a cigarette. Or you could choose to walk to work instead of driving.
It’s usually these small daily changes that really add up to a more consistent and better life over time.
Apply the two-day rule
If you can apply the two-day rule, you’re going to put yourself in really good stead to stick to your habits. It’s okay to miss one day, perhaps because something has gone wrong, but missing two or more days in a row is generally a bad idea. That’s when the skipping part becomes a habit.
Be proactive
Finally, you can change your lifestyle one step at a time by being proactive. The idea here is to write down things that happen in the moment and then think about whether they’re furthering your aims and ambitions. Sometimes you’ll find that there are certain triggers that are preventing you from being as productive or as happy as you’d like to be.
