You might have felt a spark of energy on New Year’s Day for all that you want to achieve this upcoming year. For many, that can include exercise, dietary changes, better sleep, breaking a habit, drinking more water, finding time to unwind or relieve stress, or some other aspect of health. We all know that beyond that initial spark, true change requires something that can seem out of reach in a typical daily schedule: consistency.
Unless you plan for it!
During 2023, you can redefine what consistency means for you, so that it is less out of reach and more aligned with the goals you set for yourself. The problem with thinking about consistency (or a lack thereof) is that as soon as you break the chain, you may find yourself focusing on the break rather than what you can do moving forward.
Say for example you’ve set a goal to exercise a certain number of days per week this year, such as 5 weekdays for 45 minutes each time. Life isn’t perfect, so you might end up missing one of the days you allotted for yourself.
The alarm bells go off in your head, you might think “I knew I’d mess up!” and then you may imagine that your record is blemished permanently. You wonder if you can count on yourself to get back on track or ask yourself what’s wrong with you when everyone else seems to stay on track just fine.
Some measure of consistency in health habits is needed for the goals you want to achieve, that’s for sure. But the way you frame consistency in your mind matters, because if it revolves around mental punishment or ticking off boxes that are out of reach, you’ll end up right where you started.
What does consistency mean to you? Not everyone else, but just you?
Think about the typical responsibilities and constraints someone may have to deal with:
- Too much to do or a busy schedule
- Family to take care of
- Work/business
- Finances
- Chores and errands
- Fatigue and low energy
- A “to-do” list that keeps getting longer and more convoluted
- School/education
- So on…
Oftentimes, we’ll end up pointing to that list as the reason a chain of consistency gets broken and is hard to build back up again. Let’s be honest, as overwhelming as it can get at times, that list is important to each of us—enough so that we don’t want it to become the actual enemy of our health goals. Instead of being the fall guy, that list needs to befriend consistency in some way that makes sense for you.
In other words, if going to the gym 5 days per week is obviously going to be a strain because you have to work, be there for your family, have been tired lately, and noticed chores are backing up, then 5 days is by definition not right for your practice of consistency. That is unless you want to reprioritize drastically, which may be unrealistic and not exactly what you want.
That’s okay. Your definition of consistency can change with whatever else is on your plate. Maybe you can set 3-4 days of exercise for now instead of 5, and allow one of those days to be on the weekend instead of all of them being smooshed together during the weekdays when you’re working and more tired. Maybe the duration of an exercise session can shift to 30 minutes instead of 45.
If you make the meaning of “consistency” sound more appealing to you rather than a potential disaster about to take place, you’ll like the activity you’re doing better and get more out of it.
What if you even miss one or two of those pared down exercise sessions eventually? That’s life. If it’s just once or twice, don’t worry and just get back to it when you can. If it happens repeatedly, go back to your drawing board and see if your practice of consistency needs more creative fine-tuning until it fits your schedule better. Brainstorm as much as you want until it feels right.
You can take a look at the activity itself and see if it’s still sparking your interest or has become too boring in some way. Maybe there are exercises or workouts that are more enjoyable for you. Maybe your body is objecting to a specific kind of physical activity due to soreness or pain, and that’s what is causing you to avoid those days of exercise.
Look at your schedule. Maybe the time of day that you exercise can be adjusted so that you’re less tired afterward and the activity can feel more energizing. Maybe you’re skipping food around your workouts and you have to look for a time that allows you to both exercise and grab a bite for extra energy. It could be that you’re wanting to exercise with friends and family rather than alone. Then you’d shift the timing to match with whoever will be joining you.
If 30 minutes of aerobic activity or resistance training is too much at first, you might end up changing 2 of those 4 exercise sessions to a 20-minute yoga routine (we really like Kassandra’s yoga videos, which you can do to your comfort level). You can always add on more later when you’re feeling stronger and the ball has been rolling for a month or two.
You can apply what we’re talking about here to anything in your health, not just exercise. The main point is: Consistency is fluid. We may have been taught to think that consistency is everyday, on the dot, no excuses, no room for changes in your mood/energy/whims/desires, no forgiveness, no creative license.
It turns out that consistency works a lot better when you’re in the front seat driving it. It can move when you move, slow down with you when you need it to, accelerate when the time is right, take a turn when you turn the wheel. Being aware of how you want to be consistent allows you to set challenges that make sense and are exciting for you to pursue.
This year, take a moment before you set your specific (we’d recommend against rigid) goals to picture what consistency looks like for you. No need to make your schedule into your enemy in the process. Your day is your day, your week is your week. Take a look at how you can enjoy the days and weeks, even have fun with the process of moving toward better health, and be in charge of how you go about it.
For patients who come to see us, we can work with you on consistency during your appointment. We offer naturopathic counseling, and its strength lies in helping patients develop better habits over time without a yo-yo or punishing approach.
Happy new year and all the best for your 2023 health resolutions!