Put up a barrier for negative activities

Barrier.jpg
Put a barrier up

The reason that we tend to enjoy unhealthy foods or habits is not necessarily the lack of motivation. But the easy of access and the habit of grabbing it or going for it. Think about the bag of sweets that are so approachable and that are available all the time. Rather than buying tons of them either only have a small bag present or none of them at all and have fruit available at home.

If you make it more difficult for yourself to dive into the negative habit you will be less likely to endulge in it. Have a water bottle standing in front of you and leave the alcohol in the shop or leave them downstairs and leave something above or in front of it. That if you want one you will need to work to get it. When we need to workout we have to go to the gym but if we decide we want to lay in the coach we can just throw ourselves into it. It’s better if you switch it around. Have an area close by where you can workout and either have an uncomfortable couch or put boxes in them so you have to work to get comfortable.

I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it. – Mae West

An example of an easy barrier to set-up, but harder to circumvent, is unplugging your TV. Place the remote somewhere far away, or remove the batteries if they run on it. A different method is to link something positive to a great habit. For example eating healthy is not for solely losing weight but also to feel great and to improve your capacity in the long run. Besides looking it through a positive lens attempt to link your new habits to the old ones you are used to. If you love going for a run outside add your new habits before it. For example read one page of a book and then go for the run. You will start linking your new habit to the old one you really love.

When you have set up barriers against negative habits it becomes easier to perform the activities you need to reach your goals. For example if you don’t buy plenty of snacks it will become easier to grab a piece of fruit. Besides putting up barriers for yourself you can also implement the help of others. For example meet new people who love eating healthy food and who like to go for a walk instead of going to a bar. They don’t like to contribute to unhealthy habits and the time you spend with them will be a positive habit that you can indulge in.