• Published by Kunthi Kumalasari Hardi, M.Ed., BCBA from BehaviorPALS Center 

One of the things that is often a dream of most people is to be healthier. But there's a problem with having a goal of being healthier, that is, this goal is too broad, so it's hard for you to achieve this goal. According to the book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear when you set a goal that is not clear then you are less likely to achieve that goal. In his book James Clear describes some tips that can be used to help make your goals, which may be one of them is to live a healthier life.

To become a healthier person requires changes in lifestyle and routines, or commonly known as habits. One of the first things that need to be changed when we want to change our habits is to change our identity to be like our goal, if you want to become a healthier person then you need to change your identity to become a healthy person. When you change your identity to be a healthy person, when you make a decision you can think is this what healthy people do?

Furthermore, the important thing in changing habits to become healthier is to make a plan with clear intentions. For example, instead of saying “I will start eating healthy today”, you can replace it by saying when I have breakfast in the morning, I will choose whole wheat bread instead of full uduk rice as a breakfast menu. Making a clear plan by showing when the plan will be implemented next where the plan will be implemented will make the chances of the plan higher. This is because our brains are greatly helped by context in the form of location and time.

Continuing the example above, we can use triggers that make it easier for your brain to pick up on cues that make it easier for you to start a healthy lifestyle. For example, putting whole wheat bread on the table and hiding snacks in the cupboard. If you want to exercise in the morning, then when you wake up, you have to provide drinking water and sports clothes, to encourage you to immediately change into sports clothes and exercise every morning.

James Clear also shares some tips that might make it easier for you to start a new habit. He suggests starting a new habit in a new place that you rarely go to. This is because the old place is associated with your old habits that you may want to get rid of that your brain has already recorded. Meanwhile, a new place keeps your brain fresh and in a neutral state to make it easier for you to create and implement your new habit.

Another thing he suggests is that most people like to start a new habit at the beginning of the month. This is due to the feeling that the person will start something new at a new beginning, making them more enthusiastic and motivated. But that doesn't mean you have to start a new habit to be healthier at the beginning of the month. You can of course start your new habit right now.

Becoming a healthier person is the dream of many people. However, its implementation is often hampered by old habits that are difficult to avoid. Therefore we need to create new habits and get rid of old habits that are not healthy. Hopefully the tips above can help you to start a healthier lifestyle.

By:

Kunthi Kumalasari Hardi, M.Ed., BCBA. from BehaviorPALS Center

Bibliography:

Clear, James. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results : An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. New York, New York: Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018.

healthy, lifestyle, habit

Children 4 Years - 6 Years / 4 Tahun - 6 Tahun / Physical Development / Tumbuh Kembang Fisik / Health / Kesehatan / How to Start Healthy Lifestyle?

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