Stop Making Big Plans and Just Start
Big fancy plans are getting in the way of a healthier lifestyle. Just start!
We all want the best for ourselves when it comes to staying healthy. Eat well, get fit, sleep 8 hours a night, and so on.
So we sit down and make plans, grand plans. And that’s where it often goes wrong, before you have even started.
I’m not talking about goals. Those are fine, even essential. I’m talking about plans.
Out of a mix of frustration about being stuck and excitement for who you could be, you plan how you’ll be working out for half an hour daily, how you’ll go to bed at 10pm daily without fail, how you’ll go shopping for a cartful of vegetables, how you’ll become a gym rat…
The problem is that when making these grand plans, we are often in a position where, to be honest, we can’t see them through. It’s like going from couch to 10k overnight.
But we plan away anyway. Then, inevitably, we fail, get frustrated and get back to zero or worse. There are two reasons that I think we make grand plans.
To feel better about where we currently are. When you make a big plan, you feel like you are doing something about your problem.
We, unconsciously, make big plans to escape or procrastinate about taking the necessary small steps to make progress. I’d rather make a fancy weekly workout plan (and spend 3 hours watching YouTube videos for advice) than wake up in the morning and do a 10 minute workout, or go on a brisk walk.
Look, plans are fine. But if you are just starting out in a particular area of health whether it’s exercise, a better diet, better sleep, meditation etc., I don’t recommend them.
Just start! Take the smallest and easiest action you can. Do 10 squats first thing in the morning, play a crossword puzzle on your phone when in bed rather than scrolling on X or TikTok, add a fruit to your meals rather than eliminating anything.
After a couple of weeks, you can build up to a 30 minute workout 2-3 mornings a week, manage to leave your phone in the living room when you go to bed and eat less junk food.
We overestimate our ability to make instant radical changes in our lives and underestimate the compounding effect of small steps.
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