HOW I STAY CONSISTENT

In a previous post, I shared that this year has been one of the most challenging ones for me. My environment changed a lot and many of my feel good habits kinda just went out the window. This began to take a toll on my wellbeing and I knew I needed to make some changes to my daily habits. In this post, I talked about a promise I made to myself that has changed my life. Today, I want to share how this promise has kept me accountable and how I've been able to stay consistent. 

Jacket: Adidas, Goodwill. Pants: Winners. Top and Boots: Value Village. Earrings: H&M. Purse: Lady Arkenstone Vintage. 

BE REALISTIC

I think we all have many goals in our head that we constantly repeat to ourselves. These goals can often seem very big at first and discourage us from taking the first step. We wouldn't typically say I want to go to bed five minutes earlier, we often start with I want to go to bed an hour or two earlier. But an hour can be unrealistic as a starting goal. If we decided to go to sleep ten minutes earlier every night for a week, that feels like something we can accomplish. 

I keep my daily promise quite vague and every day I alter it slightly to fit my needs. I listen to my body and some days the promise to exercise everyday turns into I promise to move my body today. It's a slight difference but it ensures that I still accomplish my goal of daily movement. Some days my promise will include I promise to rest or say no if I need to, because I know it's what I need. 

MAKE TIME 

I've kept up my daily good habits for three weeks now and I'm finally feeling good again. I'm learning to prioritize my needs and make time for them. They need a space to live too. 

I've learned that my wellness rituals don't need to take away from my social time either. If I have plans with a friend and have yet to have done any form of exercise that day, I will suggest we do something active. If I have dinner plans and haven't eaten any healthy foods that day, I will suggest we cook together or I'll have a herbal tea instead of coffee. When I made a promise to myself, I find ways of working it into my life. There's no reason the two can't co-exist. It's the only way to make it sustainable. 

MINDSET

I also had to change my mindset and be realistic. Accomplishing big goals doesn't just happen over night. I tend to fall into an all or nothing thinking spiral and it often stops me from getting started until I feel like I can just do everything all at once. I've had to change my mindset to recognize that everything counts towards the bigger picture. 

EVERY LITTLE THING COUNTS

Right now one of my goals is to save money and stay out of credit card debt. Finance is the best way to learn how every little thing counts. I've made small changes to my daily habits to support this goal. For example, I rarely pay for things in cash. This is because I track my monthly spending into categories of groceries, coffee, gas, etc. I can't track where my cash goes so I try not to keep any on me. By tracking every dollar, I can be completely honest with myself and my spending habits. We can't track progress without knowing where we stand. 

Another one of my promises to myself was to meditate every day. I used to do this every day for years but when my environment changed, I found it really hard to keep this one up. I decided to try doing my meditation first thing in the morning. That way, it becomes a habit and is prioritized over the time I take to do my makeup or get dressed. Since I made this change, I've meditated every single day. Even while traveling. 

SELF-LOVE

Staying consistent with my goals comes with challenges but I've created this promise from a place of self-love. It sounds cheesy but if your goals don't evolve from a loving place, you'll end up hating yourself if you don't measure up to perfection some days. There are times when I over-spend, when I don't have the best workout, when I over-book myself or eat junk food, but I forgive myself and promise to do better the next day. Self-hate prioritizes self-destructing activities over self-improvement. When we're mad at ourselves, do we really feel like being kind to ourselves? I've learned to fuel my rituals with love, compassion and kindness. Frankly, it's the only way to get to where I want to be. 

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL TUNDO.