What if getting healthy was an just seen as an experiment? What if instead of a New Years Resolution, you had the New Year’s Health Experiment.
If you gave yourself the right to learn how would your experience with change be different? With a resolution, you are expected to have it all done and down. You know what you want, you know how to get there, you know how you will succeed and how you will fail.
Unfortunately, the path to health is not a straight and narrow path. It is one that will wind around the mountain, have hills and valleys, and sometimes just go on for miles.
If you treated your desire to try a new food, or activity as an experiment, when you finish it you can reflect and say, “How did that go?” The reflection helps you to think about the activity from a learning standpoint.
– Did you like the texture of that food?
– Did you feel uncomfortable in that fitness class?
– Does taking the time for yourself to do yoga improve your mood and calm your mind?
This reflection can help you to recognize benefits and barriers to doing that behavior again.
The Takeaway of Experiments
The bigger takeaway from treating your changes as experiments is that you are not doing it wrong. You don’t fail. You aren’t bad for not continuing it. Instead, you are learning, experiencing, processing and growing. You are gaining insight into yourself, your choices and your desires.
So as you approach your New Year’s Resolution, put on your research hat, enter the lab of life and just experiment. Give yourself the permission to learn rather than the pressure to only succeed. You can find joy in the journey of health by allowing yourself to enjoy it.
New years health experiment reminders
1. If you believe you can, you’ll at least try
In the world of behavior change, we use a health theory called the Health Belief Model. In simplicity, if says, “if you believe you can accomplish something, and you believe there are benefits to it, then you will do it. ”
When we are looking to improve our health, we often search for what the best thing to do is. The reality is that the “best thing” is “your thing”. Don’t discredit what you like because you don’t think that it will have as big of a pay off as something you don’t like.
Remember, health is achieved when you have habits of health. Health is not a number on a certain scale, or the finish line of an event. What is it that you like, that you will enjoy, that you will continue, that you will embrace? That is what you should be doing. If walking is your jam, then walk on. Don’t make yourself pick up power lifting because you’ve heard it burns more calories.
2. A healthy life should not lead to a miserable life
Allow yourself to enjoy your food.
Eating healthy doesn’t mean eating cardboard. Allowing yourself to enjoy your food is good for your mental health and allowing yourself to enjoy food that is good for you is helpful for your physical health. Why not do both? If you like omelettes, add mushrooms, or tomatoes, or onions, or beans and salsa. Finding those little additions will allow you to still enjoy your food and enjoy your health.
Finally, people will say that baking is a science and that cooking is an art. Keep in mind that in either of these methods of exploration there is failure.
Each food preparation style is a skill that is learned through time and practice. Some people prefer baking because it is exact and there are directions that you follow. Others want to cook a meal where they can throw in different seasonings, temperatures, and food combinations.
Regardless of which one you enjoy, remember that it is all an experiment. Certain meals are going to be amazing, while others might fall flat even though you believe you’ve done the same thing. When we adopt the mentality that we are continually learning, gathering information, applying it, and trying again then starting over isn’t a bad thing, it is the next logical step. Enjoy your New Years Health Experiment, happy testing!
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Authored by Zach Cordell, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at www.cordellnutrition.com