Make it a rule – embrace healthy habits that protect your resilience
Make it a rule – embrace healthy habits that protect your resilience
As a speaker, whenever I present on resilience at work, I touch on the role and importance of behaviour change. It’s a complex area to be sure – and many people seek their own cognitive behavioural therapy with a professional to bring about change.
However, there are some behaviour changes that many of us can make on our own to improve resilience. While bad habits can creep insidiously into a previously healthy lifestyle, the good news is that healthy habits that build resilience can return with a bit of conscious effort – and an understanding how our mind works.
For example, let’s look at the top three behaviours that we know (from research) that we should implement daily to increase our resilience and improve both our physical and mental health:
- Exercise
- Healthy food choices
- Time with people we have a good relationship with.
Even on the relationship front, the research is strong. In fact, an article in a recent publication of the American Psychological Association predicted that there should soon be guidelines on time in relationships – a prediction I have also made. The issue is that while we know that these actions are beneficial, we often let other demands take priority.
So here is where the rule comes in. Here are three forces that prevent us from doing what we set out to do:
- Passive acceptance of the status quo
- Procrastination
- Defaulting to an easier option.
The reality is that we tend to do what is easiest, and what rewards us immediately. Yet, healthy habits are often neither of these. One of the ways to change this is to decide on something very realistic (you are 99% certain you’ll achieve this goal this week) and set it as a rule. You cannot change your mind, in fact you cannot think about it or reconsider it – you just have to do it and carry on with the rest of your life.
For example, you decide that you will go for a 15-minute walk three evenings per weekday. You set it as a rule, tell others around you, and proceed. If the calendar says Wednesday, and you haven’t done a single walk all week, you have no choice but to go, because you only have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday left to honour your three walk rule.
Many people talk themselves out of healthy behaviours (I don’t feel like it; I am tired and should rest; I deserve chips), but as they make it a rule, they’re surprised at how the healthy behaviour reintegrates into their life. And if it does not, despite your best efforts, then it may be a situation where working with a professional can help you identify what is getting in your way.
Dr. Marie-Helene Pelletier is a bilingual practicing psychologist and experienced senior leader with the rare combination of PhD and MBA. She helps individuals and organizations increase health and performance via her individual therapy practice and workplace mental health advisory and as a resilience keynote speaker. Connect with Marie-Helene on drmhpelletier.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.
