September 7, 2024 by Molly Patrick
Brilliant hack for living your best life
If you’re working on becoming one of those annoying people who shoots out of bed at 6am before hitting the yoga mat, drinking green tea, eating a gluten-free whole-food plant-based breakfast, and slaying the day with confidence, energy, and vigor, I’m here to help. Not all days, but most days, I am one of those annoying people. 😂
Do I always feel like jumping out of my cozy bed at the ass-crack of dawn and bettering myself?
Hell no. I do not.
But I’ve learned that the best way to make any kind of significant progress is by showing up consistently and doing the things, especially when I don’t feel like doing them.
Easy?
No.
But no one can do this for you. It’s up to each of us to take responsibility for ourselves and work toward having the life we want. Turns out, we have to be our own prince charming. Fabio is NOT coming.
Since it’s up to each of us, we may as well make it as easy for ourselves as possible. One of the best ways to do that is to imagine your future self and see what you’re going to need in order to make healthy choices. And then set yourself up for success.
Here’s what this looks like for me:
Before bed
- I pick out my morning exercise clothes and leave them on my dresser.
- My partner always prepares overnight oats so breakfast is a done deal before the new day even begins.
- I make a mental note of what I’m going to eat the next day for lunch and dinner so I don’t have to give it a second thought the following day (this is so easy when I’ve batched over the weekend).
- I fill up the tea kettle with water so it’s one less thing to do in the morning.
Throughout the week / weekend
- I always have my walking shoes and a clean pair of socks by the door, so there’s one less step to get out the door and go for my morning walk.
- I batch cook on weekends using our meal plans and avoid bringing junk food into the house. This way, I always have healthy food available quickly, and I’m not tempted to eat junk food.
- My yoga mat and all my exercise / stretching props are always left out in a dedicated space. It’s much easier to get on my mat when it’s already laid out and ready to go.
- I book my pilates and weightlifting classes on Sunday for the following week. It’s much harder to bail when something is already planned.
- My work desk has super short legs, so I have to sit on the floor. This helps open my hips and legs so I can stay flexible, it forces me to get up often and move around (because sitting on the floor is not as comfortable as sitting in a chair), it helps my legs stay strong because I get up and down so often, and it helps keep my posture straight when I work.
- I keep one bag ready to go with all my pickleball stuff and another ready to go with all my beach / swimming stuff. This way, if the mood strikes, all I have to do is grab the bag and go.
- I always wash my fruits and veggies directly when I get home from the grocery store so I don’t have to do it later. Having produce ready to go ensures I’ll use it as planned.
Now it’s your turn. Imagine your future self and identify a few things you could do now to make healthy choices a no-brainer later. You want the healthy choices to be easy and accessible and the unhealthy choices to be annoying and hard.
Who knew being sneaky with ourselves like we’re 5 actual years old could have such a positive impact on our daily choices!
Molly
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Written by ex-boozer and ex-smoker, Molly Patrick that will help you eat more plants while throwing perfection down the garbage disposal.
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