I Failed…..How does Habit really turn into Daily Practice?

How did Nutrition Month go for you? Did you find one little thing to work on and work at it over the month? I had the opportunity to work with many clients this month using different tools and strategies to help them achieve their goals, but we had one thing in mind – one small goal! The big picture is great to visualize, but being patient with yourself and the process makes all of the difference in the world to help you achieve one goal, then the next, then the next.

I even connected myself (and clients) to another Dietitian’s Nutrition Summit that she ran all throughout the month, so that I could hear some nutrition information presented in a different way, and help keep me on top of my nutrition (yes, sometimes I need gentle reminders too!)

Did your small goal work for the first few weeks and then not seem to fit into your schedule anymore? Or became a little too difficult to manage with all of your other life happenings? This can happen too. Does it mean you failed? Absolutely not! But it does provide an opportunity to sit down with your goal and reflect on what did work and what didn’t work — that is, if you want to!

I decided to set a goal this month too. It wasn’t a nutrition goal, but rather a relaxing/taking time for me/fitness goal. I hear over and over about the greatness of hot yoga. I have tried it a few times, but never committed to it on a regular basis, so that the random times I’ve tried it, I haven’t fully enjoyed the experience because (insert all excuses) – it’s too hot and I sweat too much that I can’t focus on the poses, I have done enough activity in that given day, I don’t have time….and so on! I remembered when I took up spinning classes.  Originally I would do the one-off class here and there when I had some time, and just didn’t love it. About 5 years ago, I committed to going to spin twice a week and now it’s in my calendar at least once a week – and if I miss a class, I miss it (like a craving!). So, I set a goal this month to go to a hot yoga class twice a week, and well, I failed! I wasn’t very happy with myself after the second week, but recognized some other things about the experience, which, maybe if it hadn’t been for hot yoga, I wouldn’t have made the connections.

Wonderful things really do happen when you give yourself time, to reflect on your habits and behaviours and invest in Yourself!

What I learned from, well, what some would call “failure” but I call it “trying”, is the following:

1. The class – from start to finish: The first class was lovely – really, I needed it. A class of 5 different poses that you just hold for 15 minutes each. Restorative yoga. Then there was a little more flow and movement where all I kept wondering was “where is the clock”? Until 25 minutes in when I realized it was the instructor’s voice and direction I needed to focus on. Being told to breathe, focus, lengthen and find a little more. My mind did travel to “what am I going to do after class? What do I need to get done before my next client?” And then I realized again, I was missing the whole point of the class. It wasn’t until the 3^rd class when I truly prepped myself mentally before going in that the whole purpose was to be completely mindful and focus on training my brain to stay present while in that studio for 60 or 75 minutes. This was probably one of my finest learning moments of taking on this challenge for the month. We are so quick to think about what’s coming next that we miss the little gems of each moment of what we are doing in the present moment. I mean, I teach presence and mindfulness to my clients when eating, and practice it in my life, but I was astounded at how quickly I could turn this off when it came to some things I did.
2. Commitment – staying accountable to yourself and to a buddy: I decided to share my “goal” with my cousin after a conversation we had about hot yoga. I then told the members of my fitness class too (in promoting nutrition month and setting achievable goals). After the first two weeks when I was successful in reaching my double week quota, I shared this news with my cousin. However, I was not successful on the third week, and didn’t share with my cousin until the end of the week when I finally told her. I had only gone once the week before, so I needed to make it up that current week. I also wrote down the classes in my agenda that would work for my week by looking at the schedule online and looking at my calendar a week in advance to find where there was an opportunity to add in a class. On that week when I had to reach my “three”, I also used the online service to sign up for the class. More accountability. Now, did I go to that class? What do you think? I actually didn’t. I had a new deadline presented to me, and I didn’t make it. Did I fail? Well, not really. I got my deadline done and once the work was completed I threw my running shoes on and went for a run……more of that to come! But I was hard on myself for a bit I will admit to that.
3. Comfort Zone – Do you want to grow or stay the same? That’s the question you need to ask yourself sometimes. We can easily do things day to day and feel successful at the end of the day and be happy. And that is perfectly normal. But if there is an area of your life you are working on making better, then getting a little uncomfortable with yourself may be where you need to persevere a little more. Out of the month, I probably had 2 classes where I said to myself, “I really don’t want to go to this class”…..but I went. I pushed through that and honestly, those were the two classes where I felt the best mentally once completed. I learned so much more about what the process was teaching me, rather than the “exercise” portion of it. Sometimes we may not truly love something in the beginning, but we need to give it a chance to see how we may adapt to it, or what parts we did like about it and what we may want to consider shifting.

Can you relate? Setting little goals that are achievable are great little challenges for you. But if you find that you don’t have the inspiration to make time for them, or to reach them, then it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve failed, but rather, there may be something else, or a different approach for you to seek out. You may have just realized that you DO have time to fit something into your lifestyle, and you can commit to yourself, and you can push past your comfort zones at times, but you just need to play around with what it is you are looking to achieve and maybe approach the goal in a different way, and continue to be accountable to the goal, yourself, and a buddy! Did I like hot yoga? I didn’t mind it……but can I see myself fitting something like that into my practice twice a week moving forward – not right now….and that’s ok – you need to find what will work for your lifestyle….Like me – running clears my mind just as much as yoga does. My “Science” mind also knows that sometimes it doesn’t take 21 days to make or break a habit, and maybe I need to focus on this goal for another month before I completely give up on it. I can clearly make time for it, so at the start of each week, I will slide in my 2 shifts into my agenda. If I make it yoga, I will commit to that, or if it’s a day where a 30-minute run would serve me more justice, maybe I will be more motivated. What’s important is that somewhere in my week I make sure I stay committed to Me!