They say a change is as good as a holiday!
Before Christmas I started to do more exercise classes, like yoga, aerobics (Body Combat and Zumba) and a weights class because I felt like moving my body more and enjoy all of it.
Often I’d go in the morning and it felt fun to do some work and then walk away and have that space for ideas to flow (just gently) while I was focused on other things.
And then come back to it and do what needed to be done before the end of the year.
It felt like when I promoted Healthy + Powerfully Feminine from Bali. I’d go for breakfast, write a post, lounge by the pool, make a video, get a massage, send a mailer, go for a walk, have dinner.. it wasn’t very structured at all.
But it was fun!
And I’d forgotten how enjoyable that style of working can be.
I’m much more regimented these days and there are pros and cons to both.
But it was good to experience that again.
I’m glad I went with the feeling to do more aerobics because I again had the opportunity to dance for a few hours, into the new year.
Coming back to life and work here, I want to follow my schedule but it feels quite in the flow instead.
Taking things slowly.
Each year I have a word for the year that comes to me at the start of January.
This year it is PRESENCE.
Everything I do from this state of presence, from tuning in, from sensing.. what feels right?
If you would like to discover your word for the year, just start to ask All That Is what this year is about for you.
The other thing I decided to do is intermittent fasting.
One of my friends told me how she was only having black coffee and water till lunch time and breakfast was making me so sleepy.
In the past five years I have done a bit of fasting on my quest for health.
I’ve only been doing the no breakfast for a week but so far I have found it to be very good.
For one, I am able to eat full meals again because, as I found when I did the 2 and 5 before, when I do eat, it makes me able to wait for a meal.
It regulates blood sugar levels, I think.
I am planning to do it for thirty days and then see the effect.
This is how I create lasting change.
I do something for 30 days because it is a commitment that is attainable.
It’s not like, the rest of your life!
After 30 days I assess and by then it has become normal so I can continue if I wish to.
We can even mark it off on a calendar, each day, so we know that we did it and can feel the success of the day.
Other tips for creating lasting change?
I’ll use mainly diet as an example because I have changed mine a lot and especially looking for solutions for breast cancer.
I am still on oestrogen inhibiting medication now but also change my diet to look my best. As, being in an induced menopause the past five years, I have had to make adjustments.
And why not?! We all want to look our best and not really have to think too much about it in the end so we can focus on all the other amazing things we are doing. Right?
But these tips could be applied to any kind of change you are creating!
How To Create Lasting Change?
1. Start Small
Because when we change one thing, it has a snowball effect. Like when I started doing more exercise, I naturally wanted to eat more healthfully. And starting small means it is ACHIEVABLE.
2. Schedule it in
If it can be scheduled in, like an exercise class or an hour of writing or ten minutes of journaling, do so. This reduces decision fatigue and reliance on will power.
3. Make it enjoyable
If it’s exercise, do something you love. Or at least don’t hate. Otherwise music or coffee are ways I enjoy something more. Or just being really present in my body.
4. Make it part of your identity
In my early thirties my cousin said something that transformed the way I thought about food. “I can’t eat all that, I’m just a small person,” she said. I thought wow! What have I been saying about myself? I’m a pig? I started to think of myself differently and it transformed my relationship with food forever.
5. Make it part of your lifestyle
When I did the strict vegan diet with no alcohol for four months, I had to change the way I lived to enjoy it. Rather than continue to socialise in the way I had, I decided to take myself on a yoga holiday. Whatever it is, if we want to create lasting change, it has to be just who we are and the way we live.
6. Cut down on rather than cut out
If it’s for the long-term, it needs to be REALISTIC. Like, if you love wine, you’re probably not going to never have it again but can you limit yourself to two glasses maximum when you’re out?
7. Stock up on the options
When I did the keto diet a few years back (ps it’s not good for breast cancer), I stocked up on all that I could eat and found recipes with the treats so I wouldn’t be hungry and indulge in the rest. Likewise, with just having an ongoing healthy diet, if you focus on eating nutritious food, you tend to crowd out the rest.
8. Remember your why
You could even write out all the reasons why you’re doing this and stick it where you’ll see it every day. When I was writing Wonderlust around age 30, I decided to drink only two glasses of alcohol on a night and be in bed by 11pm, even on the weekends, because I needed to get up in the morning and be fresh to do the work.
9. Find stories of success
Often we may want to make a change but don’t really believe it can happen, consciously or subconsciously. Stories of success are a great way to program the mind to believe what’s possible. Seek them out actively.
10. Visualise the achievement
This one I sometimes forget to do but it can also be an amazing way to program the subconscious mind to work for you. Imagine yourself in a situation having attained your goal, see how you are and if you can’t see it, perhaps you can hear it.
Well, this is not a definitive list but I hope it helps.
Which did you find helpful and what would you add?
Are you doing the 30-day challenge too? What change are you incorporating this month?
Before I healed my relationship with food and my body, I was too obsessed to make lasting changes and that’s why I’ve shared the process in RADIATE.
Would you like some more help cultivating a healthy relationship with your body? I invite you to check it out, if so.
Till next week!
With so much love,
Mireille xx
p.s. I am posting on my New Years and birthday trip @mireilleparker_xx
