Maintaining positive thoughts

We're into the second month of 2019. It takes twenty one days to make or break a habit - if you've stuck to your diet, your exercise routine, or your new lifestyle plan so far this year, then congratulations! You will find it so much easier to maintain these changes for the next eleven months. Give yourself a pat on the back, the worst part is over. You've set yourself a goal and you're on track to smashing it. This is huge progress and you should be thrilled at making it this far. Many people try to make changes in the first week of a new year, but never make it the first twenty one days, but not you. Well done!

...after a cup of tea, yes.

The next challenge you're going to encounter is trying to stay positive and excited to keep these changes alive. It can be tough to maintain your positive outlook and excitement for a new lifestyle, especially when you're used to doing things a certain way, so the temptation to fall back into old habits and 'easy' routines becomes easier as the positivity begins to fade. Why not order that pizza or treat yourself to a burger? After all, it's quick and easy...

But one of the most surprising things I've discovered about making positive changes is that staying positive actually gets easier the more you do it. Once you start burning off energy doing simple workouts, your body produces more energy to replace it. I haven't felt tired or lethargic at work since beginning this hobby back in May.

I'm also a pretty cynical person, but my thought process has totally changed during the past few months. Instead of looking for excuses not to work out, I'm now thinking of addtional exercises to add to the programme. Instead of beating myself up for not going as hard as other people, I'm looking at how much I managed to do.

The human mind is a pretty amazing thing. Last year, long before any of this began, I achieved a small, but significant personal victory. All my life, I've been a nailbiter. Thirty one years on this planet (so far!) have been spent chewing my own nails. My mum always hated it. My fiance hates it. So I decided to change. It was a tough thing to do, but I convinced myself to stop. First, I started paying attention to when I was chewing my nails - usually when lost in thought about something else, or bored. When I noticed myself chewing, I stopped. Over time, I managed to stop myself chewing at all. It was really, really tough to condition myself to stop an ingrained, learned behaviour, but I did it. After twenty one days, the urge subsided completely. Now my only concern is keeping the nails trim so I'm not tempted to start biting again.


You can do the same thing. It's all about conditioning. Don't think 'Oh, man I have to exercise tonight.' Instead, think 'Oh, great, I get to exercise tonight!' Train yourself to look forward to it and you'll come to enjoy those moments. I personally love the hours spent on the road or in the gym. Those are good hours, and they all have a purpose - every minute helps my body get better.

And if all else fails, you can always look back on all the progress you've made so far. You did that. Nobody else. You lifted those weights, you ran those miles, you sweat those buckets! You can do anything!