Short answer - I don't have much....haha! And I'm being honest. I've said before - I'm the first person you can talk out of going to the gym and into splitting a pizza with you over some beers. But I don't do those things often because of how I've structured my life and my habits.

Motivation doesn't last. If you have attempted to accomplish a goal, create a new routine, or change your behavior in any way; you know what I'm talking about. The excitement and motivation that you have at the beginning very quickly disappears. Usually something happens that throws you off your new routine - bad day at work, a family conflict, a party that has treats you can't resist. Once you break the routine one time, it is all downhill from there. You can't seem to get back on the train and you begin to get frustrated.

You're not only frustrated about getting off track but you also become frustrated with yourself. Here I go again....I can't stick with anything....why can everyone else do it but not me?......I'm a failure.

Hear me when I say this....NONE of that is true!! You aren't a failure, you can accomplish your goals and be successful! The reason why you haven't succeed yet is that you have the wrong systems in place.

If you follow me on social media, you have seen me post about JB Fogg and his work with Tiny Habits. His work is amazing and gives you all the tools you need to be successful. Grab his book by clicking the image below.

One of the first things he mentions in his book is the Motivational Monkey. He talks about the unreliability of motivation and how none of us can hang on to that forever. He gives us permission to think through our systems and what needs to be changed.

Since this is a blog post and not a novel, I'm not going to go into all the things but I want to highlight one key point Fogg discusses.

He asks us to think about how we can make a new habit easier and how we can make the bad habits or the habits we want to quit harder.

 

In order to make a habit easier, we need to think through all the things that are getting in our way.

• Is it time?

• Is it our equipment or tools?

• Is it lack of knowledge?

• Is it our desire?

The last one is a huuge factor for a lot of us. Do you really want to workout? Do you really want to garden? Or be a great cook? Or are those things that you feel like you SHOULD want to do. I'll get into this in another post because I really want to highlight how powerful our time and tools can be.

For awhile, I did a great job of making a veggie smoothie every day before work. It was a

great way for me to get my veggies in, it helped me start my day off in a healthy way, and it kept me full. Then one day, I bought the premade protein shakes and my great healthy habit disappeared. The premade ones were sooo EASY! I just grabbed it and left the house. I didn't have to get out all the ingredients, pull out the blender pitcher, the blade, make sure it blended right, and then find a cup to put it in to take it to work.

After I read Tiny Habits, I began to think more about why I stopped making my smoothie - even though I REALLY wanted to do it! The first thing I realized is that it is a LOT of work. I felt silly saying that but it was true. For me, the idea of pulling all of that stuff out in the morning was just too much and I didn't want to wake up any earlier to make it happen.

 

Now this moment - where you realize that something just isn't getting done, no matter how simple it seems is where you are going to try to talk yourself out of that feeling. You are going to feel silly for thinking it's too much. You may even feel lazy. STOP IT! It doesn't matter if that task is easy for someone else or someone else has no problem pulling out all the things they need. The reality is that it isn't working for YOU!

 

Once I realized it was too much and taking too long, I thought through how I could make it easier and faster. Because I really did want to make it a habit that I could stick to. Remember, you have to have the initial motivation to want to walk through these steps.

My two pain points were all the ingredients - six in all separate containers. And all the pieces to the blender. I had to get the blender pitcher out with the blade, get the top piece that actually blends it and then pour it into a blender bottle, which my husband hoards in his car and couldn't ever seem to find :)

The first thing I decided to do was to take all my ingredients and put them into individual baggies - so instead of three bags, I had one and then just had to add my protein powder and almond milk. Now this requires me to prep a little on Sunday. But the amount of time it saves me in the long run is worth it!

The second thing I realized is that I needed a different blender. I hated to admit it because like I said, it seemed silly to think that was too much. But I'm practicing what I preach, so I accepted my reality and went on the hunt for something more simple and quick.

I was so happy to find the NutriBullet! The first thing I love about it is that it's only $50! I started off googling "best blenders for smoothies" and the Vitamix was the first thing to pop up. I want to make a smoothie but not that bad...

The biggest selling point is that it blends right into your to go cup! The stand is small enough for us to leave on the counter. I dump all my ingredients in, turn the blade on, blend for 0.2 seconds because it's that good, and then replace the blade with a lid and I'm off!!

Now my habit is easy to do! I've removed the pain points that were making it too hard or too inconvenient enough that I didn't do it even though I REALT wanted to. Again - my motivation to do that habit wasn't enough. No matter how badly I wanted it, it wasn't getting done.

When creating new habits or improving on the ones we have in place, it is important to remember that everything is specific to you. What are you really going to do vs. what you think you should do? What is getting in your way? How can you make the habit smaller and more attainable?

Now it's your turn! Think through something that you really want to start doing. Maybe it's getting back in the gym, packing your lunch, cleaning the kitchen after dinner, keeping your laundry organized. Whatever it is - think through what is making it hard and what could make it easier?

I can't wait to hear what habits you start working on!

XO - Rachel

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