By Richmond Natural Medicine

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February 22, 2018

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Did you know that Spring is a prime time for enhancing natural cleansing and detoxification in our bodies? Are there any health habits and ways of being that aren’t serving you? Are there some changes you’ve been looking to make but find they aren’t sticking?

Below you’ll find some of my favorite tips for replacing bad habits with good ones.

For starters, accept yourself where you are.  It’s important to start making changes from a place of having compassion for yourself about where you are. Rejecting or belittling yourself isn’t helpful and can set you up for failure. Sometimes, this is a spot you’ll need to explore and ease into. Take as long as you need and remember that it’s a practice. Having awareness is the first step.

Tips to support you at this stage:

1. Mantras – Find uplifting phrases about self-acceptance and self-love that resonate with you and  place them in strategic places where you’ll see them often. This could be as simple as placing a sticky note of “You’re enough!” on your desk or on a mirror.
2. Meditation and yoga – If you have a practice already, go ahead and meditate on your mantra or dedicate your yoga class intention to self-compassion.
3. Professional support – Getting a counselor on your care team can help facilitate and expedite your work in this arena. Sometimes there’s a history of trauma and when we work through it, we find greater access to self-acceptance.

Up next is checking-in with yourself about which habits you want to shift and asking yourself why you want to change a habit.  It can be helpful to recall your “why” later to help you stay motivated.

Set yourself up for success with a little prep work.

Prior to actually making the change, figure out realistic steps you can take to increase your chances of being successful with this new habit. This goes for small or large changes. What’s going to be sustainable? Remember, we’re looking for long-term lifestyle changes, not quick fixes. Consider looking for role models – is a friend or colleague rocking it with a given habit? Let yourself be inspired! Avoid the rut of repeating something you’ve done before that hasn’t ever seemed to work.

Take action on your steps.  Be flexible- make adjustments along the way and ask for any help you need.  

Here’s an example:

Bad habit: Not drinking water throughout your day and feeling fatigue and getting occasional headaches because of this.
Good habit and your “why”: Consuming half of your body weight in ounces daily will lead to greater energy and fewer headaches.

Action steps to prepare for change:

1.     Calculate how much water you’d like to consume throughout the day.
2.     Find a cup or bottle you’ll drink from and figure out how many times you’ll need to refill throughout the day.
3.     Decide when in your day you’ll drink the water and go for it!

Action: Execute your plan and enjoy those health benefits!

As naturopathic doctors, we are cheerleaders for our patients in their hard work to replace bad habits with good ones. We offer support at any stage of the behavioral change process and we celebrate our patients’ victories with them.

Please call to speak with one of our Patient Relations Specialists for more information on how naturopathic medicine can help you enhance self-care behaviors to reach your health goals.