Unlock Your Health Potential: The Power of Small Habits
Are your habits helping or hindering your health goals? In the latest episode of Women’s Health Unwrapped, I delved into the profound impact of habits on our health with Melissa Rose. Together, we explored why small changes often lead to the most significant transformations and how a mindset shift can unlock your potential for lasting wellbeing.
I’m sharing here in this blog post the actionable advice Melissa shared to help you start building healthy habits to navigate your menopause without the overwhelm and stress you feel right now.
Why Habits Matter
Small steps really do lead to big changes - it’s not a cliche!
Success in health isn’t about grand gestures; it’s about the small, consistent actions we take daily. By focusing on manageable steps, you build momentum and confidence, creating a ripple effect of positive change. The motivation you’re struggling to feel that holds you back from starting to make the changes you want won’t come just because you keep willing it to. You need to get off the starting block and create it!
Habits are more than actions- they’re tied to who you are. Shifting your mindset to “I am someone who values my health” strengthens your commitment to your goals and makes healthy behaviours feel natural. Become a person who has the habits you want, let them form your identity. This is when they begin to flow in your life and do so with ease.
The Power of Mindset
Change is uncomfortable, but it’s also where growth happens. If you’ve had lots of menopause symptoms hit you, it can feel overwhelming to begin to make changes, especially if you feel like you are only just about managing to survive day-to-day. Start by identifying old habits that no longer serve you and embrace the discomfort of change as a necessary step toward improvement.
Be kind to yourself and know that you are worth investing in and reassure yourself that you can make the changes you want so that you feel less stressed and more energised.
Instead of viewing setbacks as failures, see them as learning experiences. This perspective empowers you to stay resilient and focused on your journey. Remind yourself often that you are moving in the direction you want to move to improve your health and wellbeing, and navigate menopause with more confidence.
Building sustainable habits that become a part of who you are requires you to just keep moving forward one step at a time.
3 Simple Steps to Build Healthy Habits:
Start Small and Be Consistent: Begin with one tiny habit, like drinking a glass of water every morning. Consistency is key to making it stick.
Leverage Habit Stacking: Pair your new habit with an existing routine. For example, add a 5-minute stretch to your morning coffee ritual. This is a great hack to fast-track building new habits.
Celebrate Your Progress: Acknowledging small wins keeps you motivated and reinforces positive behaviour. Treat yourself to something enjoyable as a reward. This could be a verbal acknowledgement of the steps you’ve taken and how the achievement has made you feel. Why not try high-fiving yourself in the mirror? It’s a science-backed way to affirm your greatness - just ask Mel Robbins!
Building healthy habits doesn’t have to be daunting. Start small, stay consistent, and celebrate your progress along the way. To dive deeper into these strategies, listen to the full episode of Women’s Health Unwrapped with Nicola Farndell and Melissa Rose. It's packed with so much valuable and inspiring content, including Melissa’s personal story of a Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis and how a functional medicine approach to look at her health with a 360 degree view is enabling her to live symptom free with strong health.
Share your thoughts and let us know which habit you’re starting today!
Key insights from this Women’s Health Unwrapped podcast episode:
Habits are the foundation of lasting health.
Mindset shifts are essential to overcoming barriers.
Small, consistent actions build confidence and momentum.
Knowing you are worthy of feeling healthier and supporting yourself with kindness and compassion is important to make the positive changes you want for yourself in midlife and menopause.
Like this topic? Find out more in these additional FREE resources:
Take a listen to this podcast episode where we share how to rewire your brain to build healthier habits: Rewiring your brain to build healthy habits with Mindi Huebner
Read this blog where we dive deeper into how to build habits that last: Cracking The Habit Code
Check-out this feature on habit stacking by James Clear, author of the New York Times bestselling book Atomic Habits:
“One of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behaviour on top. This is called habit stacking.”
Struggling to build habits that stick?
Love to have healthier eating habits?
If you’ve been finding it impossible to make changes to improve your diet and feel better as you navigate menopause overwhelm, I have some fantastic tips in my FREE perimenopause guide to help you. These 10 powerful tips will help you to boost your energy, reduce your stress, shift your mindset, lose weight, and improve your menopause symptoms.
