You know when you compare yourself to, “That Girl”, and wish you knew how to be more disciplined like her? Or, more motivated like her?
Yep, we all do it from time to time. That’s why today, I’m sharing her secret with you. This is the secret no one told you.
Wanna know her secret?
The good news is it’s NOT more:
- Discipline.
- Motivation.
- Or willpower.
Yay!
The even better news is that her secret is based on:
- Doing less.
- Starting small.
- And with minimum effort.
Yes, really!
Her secret? She’s built small healthy habits into her day. So, she’s not more disciplined than you, me, or anyone else. Which means all of us can do the same.
Become More Disciplined with Small Habits
Small habits—done consistently over time—are the surprising secret of, “That Girl”. Those women we call disciplined and wish we could be more like.
What’s a habit?
A habit is an action you repeat automatically and regularly with little to no energy required.
A small habit is how you start creating routines in your life that become easy and require little to no discipline. In other words, a small habit is something you know you can do no matter what—no matter how you feel, how busy you are, or what happens in your day.
So, for example:
- Meditating for 5 minutes three days a week.
- Going for a 10-minute walk on your lunch break.
- Drinking a glass of water before each meal.
Healthy people aren’t more disciplined than you or me. They’ve just tapped into the secret of small daily habits.
The women you view as being more disciplined than you have just built good habits into their lives over time. So, they don’t need motivation or discipline to do the things they know are good for them.
They know it takes time to build a handful of good daily habits in their life but recognise it’s worth it for life-long health, happiness and success. And they’ve patiently built each habit into their life one at a time. Because they know the state of their health—their mind, body, and energy levels—comes down to what they do most days.
They know that small habits repeated often, result in a healthy lifestyle with minimal effort. Or, in other words, little to no discipline. Great news for us, as it means we don’t need to learn how to be more disciplined to be healthier and more successful. What a relief!
Instead, you just need to find a handful of small healthy habits to build into your daily life. Habits you know you can do 80% of the time regardless of how busy you are or how you feel.
Plus, as a bonus, you’ll also see that these healthy habits become as addictive as, and make you feel as good, if not better, than some of your less helpful habits.
The impact of our daily habits adds up over time.
Healthy daily habits set us up for a healthy future. Unhealthy daily habits do the opposite over time.
This is hard to appreciate because it’s not immediately obvious what the long-term impact of our daily will be. But try this…
Close your eyes for a second, and imagine yourself in a year. How would you look and feel if you decided right now to introduce just one healthier habit into your daily routine?
What if you decided to stop adding sugar to your daily coffee? This could reduce your calorie intake by about 15,000 a year if you have three teaspoons of sugar daily. Even better, it would reduce spikes in your blood sugar, which can lead to sugar cravings and overeating.
Or, if you swapped your daily croissant for a slice of brown bread with peanut butter? This would reduce your calorie intake by around 73,000 a year. Plus, your body would benefit from additional nutrition. And, the increased fibre from the brown bread would increase your feelings of fullness and help prevent overeating later in the day. The peanut butter would give you a quality source of healthy protein and fats. Win-win-win!
What we do regularly, not occasionally, impacts our health.
That’s why healthy women have a handful of healthy habits they do daily—no matter what.
When I realised this was their secret, I had my “aha” moment:
It wasn’t the sugary dessert I couldn’t give up every Sunday that’d impact my health the most. It was the chocolate bar I had daily with my 3 pm cupper. And, it wasn’t the gym class I did once or twice a week (less if I didn’t feel like it 🙈) that’d help me lose the most weight. It was the 30-minute walk I knew I could commit to every lunchtime.
Over to you now, my love. Let’s identify your “aha” habit!
How to Be More Disciplined
To create a new healthy habit in your life, follow these steps:
- Write down 5 to 10 things you can do daily to improve your health.
- Cross out all activities that’ll take longer than 5 minutes to do.
- From the list you have remaining, highlight the three easiest things you can do.
- Choose one activity you’d enjoy the most.
- Commit to this one activity each day until it becomes an automatic part of your daily routine.
Your habit might seem too small. And it might feel like it won’t work because it’s too easy. But trust the secret of healthy people and give it a go.
What have you got to lose? Plus it’s much more enjoyable and realistic than trying to be more disciplined—wouldn’t you agree?!
Imagine yourself in one year if you DON’T implement this new habit. Then imagine yourself if you DO. Who will you be? The person you want to be? Or, the same person you are now, wishing you were different?
What healthy habit have you decided to try? Let me know at becky@beckyholliday.com. I love hearing from you.
Want to know what healthy habits you should create in your life? Download your FREE guide now to learn five surprisingly simple habits you can do in 5 minutes a day or less. Just enter your name and email below, and I’ll send it straight over to you.
