Sometimes we cognitively know stuff, we know what we need to do or how we need to be to achieve the outcome we want, but or some reason we don’t do it, even if it means we don’t get to where we want to be. I am guessing at some point you have felt that way, you might even be feeling that right now. So why is this?
Sometimes change is hard, we feel like it is an effort and we don’t have the energy, motivation or will power to commit, even though we know we will feel better, we opt for an easier option, one which gives us more satisfaction in the short term. I am guessing by now for many of us, our new years resolutions and good intentions are wavering, or maybe they are a distant memory…
I think it is important to put this in context, we are currently experiencing a global pandemic, so it isn’t a huge surprise our resilience and motivation are low, I am hearing this from many of my clients, friends and I am at times feeling it myself, yes I am human too!
The first thing we need to do right now is meet our basic needs:
- Ensure we are eating and drinking as healthily as we can, to ensure our bodies are nourished it has such a knock-on effect on us.
- Rest when we need to, we are under a lot of additional stress right now, taking time out is important for our wellbeing, taking time to recharge.
- Make sure we get enough sleep, not staying up watching endless episodes on streaming services, as tempting as this may be, getting enough sleep has a huge impact on our health and wellbeing and our ability to feel resilient.
- Exercise, whatever this means for you, moving our body each day makes us feel good, healthier, stronger, I don’t know about you, but I have never felt worse after having a walk…
- We also need to connect with others; whatever this looks like right now, whether it is remotely or distantly, or within our Covid safe bubbles, meaningful connection is really important.
You may be sitting there thinking this stuff is all pretty obvious and I already know this… but are you doing it?
An example from me is that I know going for a walk by the beach is my favourite thing to do and always makes me feel better, but even as recently as yesterday I almost didn’t do it. Yesterday it felt like a huge effort, but I made myself go and I felt much better afterwards, even though it was freezing cold and a little bit rainy!
When we can make these basic things, the obvious things, easy and appealing to do and we know why we are doing them, we can start to build upon that. We will notice the benefits, and then we can start to build on that with the new habits or behaviours we are looking to introduce. When we are feeling good, when we are happier, making small changes is way more appealing and easier to achieve which is more motivating and when we make them easy to incorporate into our daily life in a rewarding way, they are even more possible to sustain and before long it becomes automatic. Of course, like yesterday for me, it can be more challenging some days than others, we are all human and that is ok too, be kind to yourself, but making it easy, appealing and rewarding helps us to get the basics right and to build from there.
So I invite you to think about how you can get the basics right, how you can do what you need to feel the best you can feel, because when that happens, we feel happier (which is what I am all about) and then we can build on these and grow and develop, then you guessed it, we feel even happier!
Until next time, stay safe and be kind to you,
Emma
