ASSIGNMENTS

The title of this post may seem a little odd but I think it is appropriate when thinking about making changes in your lives.  When thinking about transitioning from one way of living (i.e. eating poorly, not exercising enough, etc. etc.) to a more "healthful" lifestyle ... we have a tendency to think in terms of dramatic shifts in behavior.  I find that this is often daunting for most people and that they pump themselves up for this big "switch" and when that becomes too much, they fall back into familiar patterns of behavior.  Of course this cycle ends up discouraging us and we find it harder and harder to get the nerve to do it all over again.  

     One strategy that I like to try with myself and others is giving myself "assignments".  By this, I think of a particular pattern that I need to establish or un-establish and I make an assignment to do this.  For instance, if my pattern is eating something at 9 o'clock every night just to give myself a little treat.  (This is a habit I hear about all the time that can often be very counterproductive and  be discarded as it is just unnecessary in most situations)  Then obviously, I give myself an assignment to make sure I don't have that snack at 9.  However, I don't give myself any other assignments for that week as I need to master one thing before I move on to another.  After, I feel like that "habit" has been broken, then I can focus on my next assignment.  The point is I don't give myself the assignment to "eat right" starting this week or "work out" as those are very broad terms that don't specifically detail a series of steps to take.  And having too many steps to take on in a given week is usually very overwhelming and hard for people to swallow (no pun intended) all at once.  So I guess my words of wisdom (as much to myself as to others) are to think of the behaviors that you are ready to tackle and give yourself that assignment for the week or even day as you make changes in your life.