Making a Habit

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great week!! I've been thinking a lot about habits lately. Maybe it's the fact that I'm about to partake in motherhood and it seems like routine and habits are going to be a crucial part of that for me. Needless to say, it's lit a fire under my butt to really start getting with the program in my personal and professional  life. 

Dictionary.com defines a habit as a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. Whoa, that last part really cuts deep for me. There's a lot of things that I would love to pretend are a habit... but honestly, there's probably few positive or healthy things that I would find hard to give up. Personally, I believe habits are the key to a healthy and happy life. Even the most spontaneous person has to admit to liking some sort of routine in their life. 

I've noticed how different habits have started forming in my life and am seriously learning to appreciate them. For example... nothing makes you realize how much of a slob you are until you marry the world's biggest neat freak. Seriously, my husband makes our bed EVERY SINGLE DAY. Clutter annoys the crap out of him... me, I can live with it. But, in order to keep the peace at my house I realized I better get in the habit of cleaning up after myself. So, I started a daily chore chart. Yep, that's right... I'm like a five year old. But guess what, my house looks great. You can come over unexpectedly and it will be clean. I quickly realized that taking 30 minutes every day to clean something saves hours of frustration and headache when we're having company annnnnnnnd my husband is a much happier person when our house is organized. I'm hoping since this has become a habit that after the baby arrives it will continue... I'll let you know how that goes haha.

Here's what I've learned: if you want to see results you better make it a habit. Anyone can workout and eat healthy for two weeks... but that's probably not going to give you the bikini bod you've always wanted. Point being, when I decided nutrition was going to be my career path I made a commitment to start working out and eating better on a regular basis. I'd say over the years those things have become a habit. I don't always like doing them, but I notice how out of whack I feel when I don't do them. I think that's what making something a habit truly is... you notice when you don't do it. Something doesn't feel quite right. 

So, how do you make a habit? How hard can it be?! Truth is, it takes some work in beginning. Here's some tricks that really worked for me:

• Commit to 30 days: Consistency is key!
• Remind Yourself: Write it down! Sticky notes, planners, or the calendar in your phone should be your best friend
• Get Accountability: If you want to make the gym a habit, get a gym buddy. Want to make healthy eating a habit? Tell your roommate or significant other to help keep you accountable
• Remove the Guilt: Don't expect yourself to be perfect. All good things take time, if you fall off the horse... just get right back on and keep moving forward. 
• Set up Goals & Rewards: Writing down your goals is so underrated! Write them down, stick them on your fridge where you'll see them every day and reward yourself when you meet them! 

Ready for the challenge? Find one thing that you can make a habit in the next 30 days. That's it... just one tiny, little thing. When your thirty days are up let us know how it went! Heck, you can let us know before the 30 days what you're doing if you need the accountability. It doesn't have to be nutrition related, start wherever you want.... just start!

Good luck my fellow habit makers! 

Leslie