7 Essential keys to forming a successful plan for healthy habits!

1. Believe- If you truly want to achieve your goals, you must first believe you can. An invaluable skill is the ability to focus on the possibility of success instead of the problems in getting there. It is easy to get discouraged when obstacles arise but truly having faith in your plan will prove to be essential in succeeding.

2.  Commitment- The 3 things that determine your commitment will be time, money, and effort. Each of those things you need to establish what budget you have to meet your goal and what allotment of time you are willing to make and the effort that is required to fulfill your objectives.
3. Give & Take- The reward is more energy, increased strength, improved self-esteem, weight loss and mental health etc. However, before the reward you must put the work in and realize there will be things you will need to sacrifice. The exchange of time to achieve your goals, the reprioritization of how you spend your money, and the passion you apply to your goal vs other things in your life.
4. Progression: The likelihood of achieving goals increases significantly when they are properly and realistically set. Setting SMART goals will not guarantee success, but will make achieving them more likely. You also need to break the big picture down into a series of much smaller goals. By creating stepping stones to your goals, you will get a better feel for what achieving the goal will require and you will see progressive results that will encourage you to keep moving forward.
5. Persistence- It takes daily efforts and constant determination to gain progress. Adopting an active lifestyle and attitude, and enjoying the efforts of daily activities will lead to success. Becoming fit does not necessarily require a gym membership. Fitness is a way of life, and going to the gym believing that it will neutralize bad habits, is not as effective as applying a healthy lifestyle every day. Before you do something, ask yourself, “Will this contribute to or detract from my goal?
6. Accountability-  Your goals are your responsibility.  Do not inflict your failure upon others, likewise, the achievement of your goals belongs to you! The support you receive from family and co-workers may justify you sharing your success, but does not justify sharing your obstacles. What tools can help with your accountability (Workout/nutrition log, Personal Trainer, Workout Partner)?
7. Change- Variety is the spice of life, but we tend to be creatures of habit. For success, we need consistency and a constant challenge. We all have comfort zones. Our personal comfort zones have conditioned us to go only so far and to do only certain things. These limitations are self-imposed.
This summary of the 7 Elements to Successful Healthy Habits can be viewed in detail in THIS F.I.T.S. Your guide to attaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle while balancing other priorities in your life. Contact a staff member at PWFC for your own copy. 

Copyright © 2003, Gregory Simmons, This F.I.T.S.  

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