Essential Steps to Creating Successful Habits That STICK (Part 3 of 4)
Last week, I shared step two to creating a successful habit that stick. And, if you missed it step one is essential before moving on to the others!
Step three is probably my favorite step in the process!
Step 3: Celebrate Your Success
Celebrate the small wins, the big wins, and everything in between! There are studies that prove that celebrating success helps refocus your brain to bring in more of the positive things you want!
Celebrating your wins (big or small) increases optimism and energy, and minimizes stress - which keeps you on track, and keeps you consistent in creating your habit, like being able to hear your hunger cues so you no longer feel like you can’t control yourself around food! It’s easy for your brain to focus on what’s going wrong, where you need to improve, what you should be doing more of, what’s the NEXT step to form this habit or reach that goal? -- and if
you stay stuck in that negative, “wanting more”, space, it’ll be much harder for more good to come your way.
In basic terms, the more you focus on the positive, and celebrate - instead of focusing on what’s going “wrong”, like the guac and chips you binged on, the more you’ll attract more of that positivity and be more successful. The feelings of being “wrong” will show up less and less- and the feelings of being "right" will show up more and more-- like being confident you can eat until you’re satisfied, and not over-eat/binge! For my nephew, celebrations were what kept him consistent with potty training. My sister created a sticker chart for him, and every time he successfully used the potty, they celebrated and he got a sticker! This small sticker celebration made him eager and excited to continue using the potty! Instead of dwelling on the negative, and the “failures”, the times he accidentally wet his pants, the times he forgot to let someone know he had to use the potty, etc., they focused on the positive which slowly brought on more and more positive potty experiences and pride in forming this new habit. I love supporting and encouraging my clients to celebrate their wins with a few minutes of reflection: journaling, a mindful walk, expressing their win to a loved one (or me, their coach!).
I find that my clients who embrace celebration, and actually pause and appreciate the incredible achievement of each small win, end up forming habits that stick more-so than those who don’t. For my client who wanted to walk more, she would keep track of her walks and wins on a spreadsheet -- she would spend a few minutes stretching and reflecting at the end of the day. She recognized that the days that she walked and celebrated she felt a lot of positive momentum around other areas of her life: more patience with her family, more focus at work, better sleep and more energy, etc. The positive changes continued to expand - which made it easier for this new habit to stick!
Next week, I'll wrap up this Successful Habit Series with step four!
If you'd like some support before then, and are READY to quit dieting for GOOD and finally eat food you love and feel confident in your body, join me for a free 30-minute assessment call so we can get you on track to access your food and body freedom.
Book your free call here!
Be Well,
Marissa