Being overwhelmed is one of the top obstacles standing in the way of actually reaching your goals. You feel like you have no idea where to begin when odds are, you do have a pretty good idea, it’s just clouded by the overwhelm.
This article will show you exactly how to get started today, even if you’ve been feeling totally overwhelmed.
Start Small
One large contributor to overwhelm is feeling like you have to make a drastic overhaul all at once in order to see any results. That’s just not true and it’s likely part of why you haven’t taken any action, yet.
Instead of waiting until the “perfect” time (hint: there won’t be one), start with whatever small changes feel manageable at this very moment.
Here are some ideas:
-Eating a vegetable at some or all of your meals today
-Parking further away and walking a little extra
-Setting an alarm on your phone and doing 10 squats or 5 push-ups every hour
-Setting a timer and aiming to take at least 15 minutes to eat a meal
-Having a lean protein source at some or all of your meals today
-Replacing one or two of your sugary drinks with something 0-calorie
-Getting a smaller sized drink at Starbucks
-Preportioning out snack-y foods so that if you’re enticed by them, you won’t eat the whole bag in a sitting
-”Closing” the kitchen after dinner so that you don’t mindlessly snack while watching tv
-Going for a quick walk before you sit down for the evening
-Heading to bed 30 minutes earlier than normal to read and relax before sleep
You might be thinking that these things are so insignificant that they won’t make any difference. But that’s just not the case. Your results will come as the result of small, repeated efforts, day-after-day.
If you’re currently not doing anything because you feel like you can’t make a big enough effort, the result is you’re doing nothing, right? So isn’t just a little bit of improvement better than nothing?
YES, it is.
Do Those Things Unfailingly
Once you’ve picked one or a few of the ideas above, the next step is to do them consistently, until they hardly feel like an effort at all.
This might happen pretty quickly, especially if you’re returning to a habit that you used to do regularly. Or it might take a few weeks to start to feel normal.
It doesn’t matter how long it takes, just that you keep making the effort.
Personally, I am a big fan of task charts to give me an incentive to do what I say I want to do. If you think that might work for you, feel free to steal this template.
The top priority here is being consistent so keep taking those actions, no matter how foolishly small or inconsequential they might feel. If they’re that small, it’s really no big deal to keep doing them, right?
Add Another Thing(s)
Now that your initial undertakings are feeling like second nature, it’s time to add a few more small actions. You can pick from the list above or add some of your own that you’ve thought of since you got started.
Maybe you’ve consistently been having veggies at 1 meal per day for the last couple weeks and now you want to step it up a bit and have them at 2-3 meals each day. Or maybe you decided to tackle veggies and you’re feeling great about your intake so now it’s time to shift focus to increasing your protein intake.
Ultimately you want to be working toward the balanced meal guidelines set forth in the Body Transformation Guide. Additionally, striving to be active in some way most, if not all, days of the week, is another great goal. There are workouts for you in the Body Transformation Guide, as well. Don’t have a copy? Well get one here:
Be Realistic
Unrealistic expectations are one of the primary reasons that people give up. It’s important to recognize that the results you get are correlated with the effort you put in.
It’s totally fine if you don’t have the bandwidth right now to take on much more than a 15 minute evening walk. You just can’t expect to lose 5 pounds a week doing that. (FYI, that’s an exaggeration, you should never expect to lose 5 pounds per week.)
As you’re able to take on more, or more drastic, changes, larger, more drastic results will follow.
But keep in mind that every single thing you’re doing now is contributing to making you a healthier, happier, and more confident person. I remind you again of the Robert Collier quote, “success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out.”
Need help?
Want someone to brainstorm with about exactly what actions to take to start getting some wins under your belt? Feel like you’re ready for a more drastic overhaul but want to make sure you’re going about it the right way?
I’m currently accepting clients into my Gone For Good weight loss program and I’d be delighted to have the opportunity to work with you. Learn more here:
