What you surround yourself with on a day-to-day basis will affect how hard it is or how easy it is to continue to work towards your fitness and health goals. Let’s cover 7 ways your environment affects your health goals.
1. Temptations
If you have junk food readily available to you in your environment and visible to the point that you see it on a daily, if not hourly basis, this is going to affect your progress and your mindset. Remember your thoughts lead to feelings and your feelings lead to actions so if you keep seeing the junk food and thinking about the junk food and wanting the junk food and you know it’s readily available you’re more than likely going to partake of the junk food. It also works for your healthy food. Get a fruit bowl and use it. Put fruit in it. When you open up your fridge have your fruits and veggies at the front so you see them first. Make them easy to grab and go and eat.
2. Reminders of your goals
On the other side of temptations are positive reminders of your goals. Set out your workout clothes so that you see them. Have a reminder on your phone to get in your exercise for the day or to drink your water. Place pictures of healthy meals printed out and hanging on your refrigerator so that when you go into the kitchen you see healthy food options and ideas of what you want to choose to eat. Set these reminders of what you want to accomplish and how you want to get there all-around your house.
3. Color and lighting
If you have a certain area in your home where you eat or exercise be aware that the color in that room affects you. If they’re pink more than likely that is not the color to get you motivated to exercise, unless you’re doing ballet. Is it dark in the room? The darker the room the more you’re going to want to rest so instead you want to have bright colors on the walls and bright lights in the rooms where you are going to exercise. Open up the windows and let the sunlight in! (Some recommended workout room colors from Benjamin Moore.)
In the room where you’re going to eat you’re probably going to want a muted blue or green. Fast food restaurants use bright colors to get you in and out quickly and make you feel hurried. That’s not what we want when we’re eating. We want to be mindful while we eat. We want to eat slowly and be intentional about what we’re putting into our bodies.
4. Space
You’re going to need some reasonable amount of space to work out. Even if it’s just bodyweight exercises you need at least the space that a yoga mat would cover on the floor with some peripheral space so that you can turn and maneuver. If you don’t have space inside of your house then you might need to work out outside or at a park. Do you have stuff sitting and taking up space that isn’t being used to its highest possibility? Maybe it’s time to put your health first and Marie Kondo that space.
5. Music
Music is a very personal thing for most of us we all have different preferences and even memories associated with certain songs or styles of music, but music can most definitely encourage or discourage us to work out and take care of ourselves. You want to choose music that has a beat and style and lyrics that are going to keep you in a positive mindset. Don’t listen to sleepy music unless your goal is to fall asleep on your yoga mat. And don’t listen to sad or broody songs that bring up old feelings for you. Positive lyrics and beats between 120-140bpm will motivate you to move more.
6. An accountability partner
Studies have shown that having an accountability partner increases your chances of reaching your goals by 85%! An accountability partner can be somebody that you work out together with or someone that you share recipes and meal plans with. They may also challenge your negative thinking and encourage you towards habits that would benefit your health on a day-to-day basis.
7. It’s too comfortable
It’s not a secret that we like to be comfortable and being lazy is easy. More often than not most of us will choose the easier, more comfortable option of our given choices. Our couches, beds, and chairs are often very comfortable and we could sit or lay in them for an entire 8 hour day. Electronic devices easily entertain us sometimes for hours and hours when it would be far better for us to be up and moving about. And keep the electronics out of your bedroom. They only encourage you to stay in bed and be lazier longer.
So which one of these environmental factors affects you the most?
Which one do you want to change first?
Make your health a priority and take action today!
Are you trying to set some new goals? Check out our 4 Day Goal Setting series! Here’s Day 1!