What to Do When Your Health and Happiness Hit a Snag

Like a Sam­sung Galaxy Note 7, some­times the best intend­ed revi­sions and newest ver­sions of our­selves can hit a small snag. While our best laid plans don’t always explode in spec­tac­u­lar fash­ion, snags, derail­ments, bumps in the road, etc., are all an inevitable part of life, as — trust me on this one — few things go entire­ly accord­ing to plan.

So, what can you do when your train of health and hap­pi­ness derails?

Start by set­ting your expec­ta­tions to “human” rather than “per­fect robot.” If your plan is to exer­cise, build in a day off to rest, recov­er, and get ready for more. If you are look­ing to eat more health­ily, antic­i­pate that some­times the desire for ice cream with your nephews will be stronger than you can resist. Accept and love your­self in these moments of humanity.

Next, build in moments of cel­e­bra­tion. Take the lit­tle things and turn them into the suc­cess­es they are! No one writes head­lines about all of the Sam­sung devices that did­n’t explode, but imag­ine how pos­i­tive that would be. Acknowl­edge all of the changes you are mak­ing, both big and small, and how well you are doing devel­op­ing this lat­est, great­est ver­sion of your­self. Sup­port your­self along the way with pos­i­tive thoughts and mes­sages to help you stay on track, and don’t be afraid to ask for encour­age­ment from friends and family.

Remind your­self of why you are mak­ing the changes in the first place. Keep inspi­ra­tional quotes or pic­tures in key places where you will see them. They can help you in those moments when you just need a lit­tle extra help get­ting over the hump, or when you need to pick up all of the pieces and get back on track. Pick an item you see often — a ring, a watch, a key­chain — and use it to remind your­self to pause, breathe, and recalibrate.

Most impor­tant­ly, throw out the notion that you need to wait until every­thing is per­fect and calm before you can make a change. Life is a glo­ri­ous and unpre­dictable roller coast­er ride and if you wait for extend­ed calm and tran­quil­i­ty, you will wait your whole life before hon­or­ing your­self with the changes your heart desires.

You, my friend, are worth more than that!