June is National Safety Month and week two focuses on the benefits of wellness.
According to Hillcrest Medical Center’s Safety Manager, Bobby Benn, “Start by doing some small things like taking a 15-minute walk in the sunshine. It can make a huge difference in how you feel and act towards others.” Developing healthy behaviors is more easily accomplished by establishing better habits, in small steps. Below are seven tips to help you create better habits that can help make healthy actions automatic.
Set Small Goals
Starting with a huge goal can be incredibly overwhelming. Focusing on small, progressive goals makes the tasks seem within reach and easier to accomplish. It also sets you up for lots of wins and celebrations along the way.
Use Triggers
Triggers are anything that leads you to automatically do something else. For example, if you lay out your workout gear before you go to bed, you’ll see it in the morning. The gear serves as a trigger to head to the gym as soon as you wake up.
Be Prepared
Set yourself up for success! Be sure you have all of the equipment and supplies you’ll need to make healthy choices. One great example is to make larger meals for dinner so you have leftovers for the next day’s lunch. That way you’re not solely relying on your willpower to avoid unhealthy choices at the drive-thru.
Set Priorities
Priorities help you to focus on what matters. Everybody’s health journey means something different to them. Remember why you started in the first place and keep that at the top of your mind as you make healthy choices throughout the day.
Make Steady Changes
There will be setbacks, slipups and mistakes. This happens! The most important thing is to ensure you’re always making steady progress. A slipup is not a failure, and even the smallest step in the right direction can be a huge step for your healthy lifestyle.
Identify Harmful Patterns
If you haven’t pointed out the things that are sabotaging your healthy lifestyle, how can you overcome them? Take the time to identify the things that are standing in the way of your healthy behaviors. That way you know exactly what you’re up against.
Reinforce Good Decisions
Celebrate! It’s fun and it feels good, but it is also a very important part of reinforcing healthy habits. Your body and your mind like to be rewarded. Rewarding yourself for good decisions makes you want to make even more good decisions.