Behavior change doesn't have to be so hard

I've been able to make myself do a lot of things in my life - hard things, exciting things, stressful things - everything from putting on conference for educators around the country to putting on Retreats for moms to doing TV segments to climbing mountains to running a couple Ragnars. I'm pretty good at doing the big, hard things that feel right to me.

But I'm not good at doing some of the small, simple things that I know I really need to do. I keep resolving to floss my teeth more regularly. But I don't do it. I keep resolving to do sit ups and push ups every day (I run and hike but I'm terrible at making myself do strength training which I know is so important especially as I get older!). I keep saying I'm not going to eat anything except fruits and veggies after 8pm but then those cookies we made earlier in the day are just so tempting. I keep committing to getting to bed by 10:30pm so I can get the sleep I need and then there's always some reason I really need to stay up a bit later.

So I really appreciated this Ted Talk that helped me to see that I CAN fix these little things (that can add up to big things). I just need to start really small and attach a new tiny action to an existing regular action.

BJ Fogg's Ted Talk: Tiny Habits

So here's where I'm starting:

• After I brush my teeth each night, I will floss the top or bottom of my mouth.
• After I go to the bathroom each time, I will do 3 push ups
• Before I eat breakfast in the morning (after I get back from dropping off kids at school), I will do 30 crunches.

So I'll start there. And I'll let you know how I do.