Restarting a habit? Read this first!

Did you get a chance to download the free power sheet last week and do the life review? If not, grab it here and take it now. 

What did you find? Did you find that the habits and goals you’re working are are in the lowest-rated areas of your life? If you didn’t, that’s normal. We don’t usually gravitate towards working on what will be MOST painful (because we don’t hate ourselves). But you will get the most benefits out of working on those lower-rated areas. Our lives seek balance and it’s hard to push your career from 4 to 5 stars, when your relationships are at a 2.

I recently decided to focus on my health (which had accidentally become one of my lower-rated areas) and start running again. I used to run several times a week and I loved it, but I got injured and never picked it back up.

My first day back, I made a big mistake.

I started comparing myself to 1-Year-Ago Past Mel.

I wanted to immediately start running the same workouts she’d been doing in the same amount of time. Even though I’d taken a full year off from running, I wanted to start where I used to be instead of where I was currently.

You’ve got to start where you are.

Maybe you got sick or someone else got sick. Maybe your life suddenly changed and you had to set aside a goal or habit for a period of time. Maybe you just plain gave up for a little while.

That’s okay! You can pick the habit or goal back up, but you’ve got to start where you are today.

Maybe Past Mel could run 5 miles in 50 minutes (which I was really proud of), but Present Mel can only do 2 miles in 25 minutes. That’s okay! It doesn’t mean I’ll never get back to where I was, but there’s no sense in trying to start in Past Mel’s shoes.

When you start where you used to be instead of where you are, you set yourself up to fail.

Or maybe you’re great at imagining the future and you’ve got big dreams for yourself. It can be hard to walk things back and make reasonable goals for yourself. Instead of trying to start where you are today, you’re trying to start from where 3-Years-from-Now Future You will be.

If you struggle with comparing yourself to Past You or Future You, listen to this episode of the Becoming Future You podcast. 

I break down a simple process that will help you make sure you’re setting yourself up to win.

You’ve got this!

Mel

Your 5-Star Life Coach ⭐️