The War On Attrition

From Resolution to Healthy Habit Formation

February 06, 2022

This post is a continuation of a series I wrote leading into the new year focusing on the process of making positive changes in our lives. We can approach this anytime, it doesn’t have to be around January 1. Here are the first three installments if you’re getting started now... 

Don’t let the poets fool you. February Is the Cruelest Month. 

The warm glow of the holidays has dimmed. It’s still cold after months of cold. And the promise of the new year has begun its slow fade. 

This is when we might begin to neglect resolutions we’ve made so here are some tips for staying on point or getting back at it if you’ve stumbled.

Taken together, these might assist in the journey from resolution to healthy habit formation.

Monthly Resets

The monthly reset is a great nudge, because it brings our plan front and center at consistent intervals. It’s a self-check in.

Set a 30 minute appointment with yourself in your calendar for the first of every month of the year called something like, Resolution Reset.

Then, take that 30 minutes to focus on how you are doing. If you are still on track, great, this might be a short meeting or you still might want to make some adjustments. 

And if you are slacking, this can be a time when you recommit to the plan you made in December.

Maybe you plan a workout for the 3rd. Etc…

Embrace the Pace

Sometimes we drop our resolutions because we got way too gung-ho out of the gate. 

We burn out or get injured. We say something like, I’m gonna run a marathon this year. And then we go out, start running five times/week and injure ourselves by week three.

(Injuries suck btw. Avoid them at all costs.)

Start slow. Maybe even do less than you can.

Bit by bit pick up the pace.

This is the tortoise and hare thing. Gradualism is great.

Rest

Rest is so key. 

Take the day off. Take two. If you are feeling a bit gimpy after a workout, wait until you feel better whether that’s a day or five days.

This is tuning into your body and your rhythm and it is huge.

Responsive rest is a set-up for the long haul and, while it seems like slowing down, gets us from resolution to healthy habit formation faster.

Perfection Is Poison

If we miss a workout it’s nothing in the big scheme. If we can’t lift a weight or fail for a minute, it’s nothing in the big scheme. If we look schlumpy it’s nothing in the big scheme. 

Perfection is poison and the people we see on television or Instagram who act like they’re perfect are actors. They’re just pretending.

Finding Your Tribe

Find people who’ve done what you are doing and get with them. I have written this one out before and will do so over and over again.

If you are losing weight, get with people who have lost weight. If you want to build some muscle, get with people who have built muscles. 

They will get you and many will be generous with their knowledge.

Mindset Game

The shift from resolution to habit occurs imperceptibly over time.

There might be a moment in there somewhere where the switch flips from one to the other but really that moment doesn’t matter.

We are what we do.

Just. Keep. Going.