Every new year gives you a chance to make the changes you have always wanted to. In order to make these changes, you need to make sure that you have the right mindset for success. You can succeed in 2022 with these five mindset tips.
1. Identify your WHY
If you’re not clear on WHY you’re trying to make lifestyle changes, it’s easy to make decisions that provide an immediate reward instead of long-term gains for you.
When you talk about why you want to change, it’s important that you go beyond the superficial reasons that may first come to mind. For the sake of explaining I am going to use being healthier as an example for your lifestyle change. If you want to be healthier in 2022 you may currently view prioritizing your health as something you need to do in hopes of avoiding diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. You might find yourself doing just enough to try and avoid these negative outcomes without feeling motivated by a more compelling vision of health that truly draws you forward and inspires you.
When you approach your health like this there is more of a focus on what you DON’T want to experience than how you truly want to feel. Minimizing the likelihood of developing a disease is not motivation enough to put in that extra effort to be healthy. It’s also not going to compel you to choose carrots and hummus instead of a bag of chips as today’s afternoon snack.
Instead, it’s so important that you identify the POSITIVE outcomes that you will get to enjoy by making the lifestyle change you desire. For example, being healthier will allow you to have more energy that can be used for spending time with family, exploring nature, or gaining hobbies.
2. Focus on what you want
If you find yourself worrying about failing your lifestyle change, whatever it may be, you are focused on negative outcomes. The good news is that you can train your mind to focus more on what you desire, instead of the outcome that you are trying to avoid. It takes time to reprogram your mind, but it starts by paying attention to the types of thoughts you’re thinking, questioning them, and replacing them with thoughts that are focused instead on positive outcomes.
For example, if your goal is weight loss you’ll want to start visualizing yourself releasing the extra weight that you’ve been carrying. When you look in the mirror, focus on the muscle definition and curves that start to appear as you begin a workout regime, instead of focusing negatively on the weight that you still have left to lose.
These simple mindset shifts will not only keep you feeling more upbeat and positive, but they also feed into the law of attraction. By focusing on what you want to create and experience, instead of what you want to fix or avoid, you are elevating your mindset and energy in a way that magnetizes these results to you. This helps you to create momentum towards the health, energy, and other positive outcomes that you desire!
3. Play the long game
So many of the choices we make are based on short-term rewards. You may find yourself picking up take-out on the way home because it’s an easy option that saves you time when you’re trying to save money. Or maybe you’re craving sweets so you have a doughnut for breakfast instead of choosing eggs or oatmeal when you’re trying to eat healthier. While these may seem like rewarding choices at the moment, how often are you making choices based on the result of those actions?
Getting take-out on the way home may be an easy alternative to cooking but once you see those extra dollars being drained from your bank account you will begin to notice it was not worth it. Craving sweets is not a bad thing but letting yourself buy into these cravings will stop any health goals you have. Of course you can have the occasional take-out meal or sweet but it’s important to consider the big picture. Once I have this, is it really worth it?
With these three tips, I hope that you can gain the mindset necessary to make the lifestyle change you desire in 2022. Good luck!
Resources: “5 Mindset Shifts to Make Healthy Habits your Natural Choice” by Healthy Life Redesign
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