Here’s a question - why is it so hard to develop good habits like eating healthy even when we know what’s good for us? Or even more intriguing - what makes some behaviors stick even when it gets hard (ex. eating healthy even while on vacation…that’s some major willpower) versus habits that slide right off at the first sight of difficulty?
Elizabeth Sherman, Executive Health Coach, has been pondering this question for the last decade. Over the past 12 years, she’s helped hundreds of people achieve optimal health for them through staying consistent with the basics, getting a little bit better every day, and having self-compassion on those days when we thing we ‘should’ be more. Lucky for us, she’s here to share her findings with
with us in this episode! The topic of health & fitness, and in specific, healthy habits first dawned on her after her mother had passed away from breast cancer. Elizabeth was motivated to understand how she could stay as healthy as possible. As she puts it, she thought that
“once I found that magic pill, everything would be easy”
Sorry to break it to you, but there’s no magic pill. But what she found does come in as a close second! She discovered that the brain (mindset) is crucial when it comes to being healthy. We can extend that into something even more concrete and say that forming healthy habits is all about how we wire our brain.
While our examples revolve around habits for health, you can take the principles that Elizabeth shares and extend it into any good habit that you want to develop - relationships, work or self care. Here’s my take on habits:
Good habits for health are crucial to every part of your life because it’s one of the drivers of your energy. Energy is one of the most important commodities that you have so do everything that you can to keep it up. Without energy, you end up as a potato! You feel slow, foggy, and unmotivated to create a life you love. With energy, you can take life by the horns and go live vibrantly!
Creating any good habit will help you live in ease and flow! Imagine all the brainpower you save when you just get up and workout in the morning without having to think about it. Or that you get up and slip right into meditation and start the day off just the way you want. Even simpler yet, maybe it’s something like taking out the trash every time you leave the house - like a well oiled machine. No pep talk needed, no extra energy spent on remembering…then forgetting…then berating yourself for forgetting….
I used myself as the guinea pig with my issue of not being able to wake up early even though I really want to. Elizabeth quickly revealed a few possible limiting beliefs and helped me flip it - a technique that you can apply too.
Okay so in summary, this episode is all about setting habits that stick. Elizabeth tells us why sheer willpower or even setting our environment up for success (ex. laying out your gym clothes the night before) isn’t the key. She shares the number one most important thing when it comes to actually making a habit work. I can’t wait for you to listen in - what she shares will make your life a lot easier!