How to Form New Habits

My story of finally going to the gym and liking it and the way I hacked into my thoughts and tricked myself into forming a new habit.

 

Today we are talking about how to form new habits, and I’m going to share my story of finally going back to the gym and actually liking it. The mind is very powerful, and when you learn how to hack into your thoughts, you can trick yourself into doing things that are good for you and actually like them, like going to the gym.

 

My Body Image Background

 

A little about me and my background of body image, fitness, and all those things first. I grew up in central Wisconsin, I guess that doesn’t really matter for this story, but I did. Growing up, like a lot of people can relate to, I had a very negative image of my body. I grew up in a household with a constant focus on trying to lose weight, lose weight, lose weight, and being obsessed with being overweight. I was always on the bigger side and my friends were always skinnier than me. 

Now looking back at pictures, I’m like – Girl, you looked so good! Ugh, don’t you wish you could just reverse and talk to yourself? And say, You look fantastic, and stop being so hard on yourself. 

 

I also grew up dancing in a dance studio and on the dance team, so there was a lot of body image stuff that is probably deep-seated inside me from that, that I haven’t even accessed yet. In college I had ballet teachers ask me what I was going to do about my weight and I was given diet books to try out. My mom supplied me with diet pills when I was in junior high and high school. So, I have always had a messed-up relationship with my body image and it has continued on into my mid-thirties. I’m still in my mid-thirties at 37 right? Oh gosh, is that late thirties? I don’t know.  

 

I had a stint in my early thirties where I was doing Beach Body coaching. I was very public about my weight loss journey, which is what they tell you to do and you’re supposed to share everything about your journey and how you’re using the products. I was working out a lot and had dropped some weight and felt really good about it. That was also right before my wedding, so I had good motivation to do all the workouts and keep up my fitness. I didn’t have a child at that point. So that was a fun little moment of feeling good about myself. Then, for whatever reason, I stopped. I know why I stopped Beach Body, that’s a whole nother story. But I’m not sure why I stopped consistently working out. One thing I have stayed consistent with is walking. I love going on long morning walks. That’s something I have always been able to keep up with. 

 

So, fast forward to my life now, after having a baby and going through covid, where the activity level is naturally lower because we were all trapped inside for so long. So this postpartum body of mine is probably on the highest number I’ve ever seen on the scale. But I don’t make that mean anything to me, which honestly has taken time to come to that point. I honestly don’t even weigh myself as a form of self-care, for my mental health mostly. 

 

My words for the year are Health, Wealth, & Beauty. As far as wealth goes, I’m really proud of myself for how far I have come in bringing more income into my business. My husband also got a great promotion and raise as well. So now we have Health and Beauty that are still on the docket. That’s something I was thinking about trying to work on. Part of that is dropping some extra weight I’m carrying around after having my baby. At this point, I have done every single diet and fitness plan known to man. So, I know myself very well. I know that I have to want to do things on my own terms in order to take action. 

 

Identify Your Resistance or Excuse

 

My husband joined a gym and I know that was his way of gently suggesting I join a gym. I wasn’t quite ready at first. But eventually, something clicked. I asked myself, Alright, what is going on here? What is my excuse? Why am I so resistant to joining a gym? And my excuse and story that I was telling myself was that I didn’t have enough time and I didn’t want to lose my morning walks. I do walk every morning, listening to my podcasts, with my coffee, and it’s my favorite thing in the world. So my excuse was that I wouldn’t be able to get my walks in and that would be sad and I just don’t have time. So, I had to do some thinking and some self-coaching. I decided that I could replace three walks a week with going to the gym. Because guess what? I can still listen to my podcasts at the gym. So there, I figured out my little schedule because I thrive on schedules. 

 

Remove Expectations

 

I also removed all expectations and didn’t follow any type of a plan on that first day in the gym. I still do that every day. I go in, read the room, see what’s open, and get super excited if I can find a little area all to myself. I just remove all expectations and do my best to make it a fun experience.

 

Make it Convenient

 

Another thing I did was I chose a gym that is less than a block away from my child’s preschool. So as far as driving there, I cannot use that as an excuse because I’m literally going there every morning. It’s super convenient. This has been studied. I don’t know what it’s called exactly but when you make things convenient for yourself, you’re more likely to do them. It sounds obvious. If you want to remember to take your vitamins every day, put your vitamin jar next to your toothbrush. If you want to go to the gym every day, choose a gym that you drive past every single day so you are making it as easy as possible. For me and my personality, if it’s easy, convenient, and just there, I’ll do it. So, that is a huge hack. I chose the gym that is right by my daughter’s preschool, awesome, great.

 

Gaining Momentum

 

So, I started going and like I said, with no expectations. Here’s my routine. I get on the treadmill and wait until it tells me I burned 100 calories. I was like a little baby fawn at the gym at first. I was so nervous, it had been so long since I had been to one. And you have to get into the groove of your specific gym. I was on the treadmill at first fumbling around with the buttons on speed 2.5 mph with no incline. I just wanted to ease into it, knowing I’m not a spring chicken anymore and I didn’t want to get injured. So I just started with getting those 100 calories burnt on the treadmill. Then, I did the machine where you pull down on the ropes, more upper body arm stuff. So I pulled on some ropes and got a good sweat in. I was there for about 30 minutes and I decided that was the perfect amount of time and I was done for the day. And I actually enjoyed it. 

 

That’s kind of my routine every time, and now I’m feeling more confident, walking faster, boosting up my incline, going on new machines, trying out new things, and getting braver to explore the different options there for me. It’s because one day, I was on the treadmill and I just felt a little pep in my step and I felt a little bit stronger. It might have even been the very first week. After a week I started feeling a difference in my body. I took a moment to really recognize that and let that sink in and celebrate that a little bit. And then that gave me the momentum to keep going and to keep showing up as often as I can within my 3 days a week commitment. It was all of a sudden easy.   

 

Healthier Eating Habits

 

This also snowballed into healthier eating habits. But, I know myself and I know I love to dine out. Going out to restaurants is one of my favorite things. So, I choose not to be on a super restrictive diet. I know I could if I really wanted to, but I don’t want to because I love eating and food and that whole experience. So my compromise with that was to lean more into a plant-based/pescatarian diet. Which has kind of been fun. When you go to restaurants and the menu is overwhelming, now I get to narrow in on my little section. What do they have that’s vegetarian or pescatarian? And it’s paying off, I’m seeing differences in my body.

 

Manifestation

 

I know where I want to be on the scale, but as I said, I don’t weigh myself. So I know how I want my clothes to fit and I know how I want to feel. That’s what I really tapped into. I just wanted to feel attractive again. I just wanted to feel pretty. I wanted to feel confident. I wanted to feel comfortable in my skin. I want to look in the mirror and want to take a selfie without trying to stretch my neck out to hide my double chin. That’s just how I want to feel. I’m all about body positive, but for me, there are certain things that make me feel confident and beautiful in the way I look and that’s what I wanted to get back to.

 

I just kind of let go of the how. I didn’t get super specific about the “plan”. I just tapped into the feeling that I wanted to be having and then started bringing that feeling to my present. So now,  I do feel more attractive, I do feel prettier, and I like the way I look in the mirror more. Which is basically manifestation 101, having the desire, the want, being clear on your vision, tapping into that energy and that feeling of it. And then letting the how, the nitty gritty how go, and just following your intuition. 

 

Trick Yourself Into Liking a Habit

 

Like I said I’m actually seeing results, in my clothes and in my selfies. I haven’t gotten on the scale yet, but I do feel pretty proud. I just feel like this method could be used for any habit you want to incorporate into your life. If it is a health and wellness habit, just keep in mind that taking time for yourself and focusing on yourself, trickles into every aspect of your life. If you are trying to get more clients or make more money in your business, all these things that you can do for yourself and self-improvement in mind, body, and spirit, are all connected. 

 

If you are looking to form a new habit of working out, journaling every day, adding in meditation, or eating healthier, remember that your mind is a very valuable tool to you. And you have more power over it than you think. Start shifting your thoughts, and replace the negative with the positive. At first, it’s going to sound like you are lying to yourself, but eventually, you just believe it. I really love going to the gym now which is so weird to say because I never thought I would. But this can be applied to any habit that you want to do.

 

Trick yourself into liking it, take the pressure off yourself, replace your thoughts, and also get really honest with the excuses and stories you are telling yourself. Like my excuse of not having time. That is the biggest bull$hit excuse in the whole entire world. Time is an illusion. You have heard the quote, “Beyonce has 24 hours in a day too.” It’s not that we don’t have time for something, it’s that we choose not to make it a priority. And that’s just it. I know that circumstances are circumstances, but if you really take a good close look at something. As far as not having time, see where you can adjust your schedule, ask for support with something, or outsource something. Get scrappy, get creative, and if it means enough to you, you will end up finding the time for whatever new habit you want to start implementing. 

 

So, once you get that going, be comfortable with being uncomfortable for the first few days. Honor your commitment to yourself and then notice those wins, those little tiny wins! When I was on the treadmill and I felt the tiniest bit stronger at that moment and I could up the incline, I really absorbed that moment. It was great, it was the point and it was why I was doing it. I logged that moment in my head and I tap into it regularly to remind myself why I’m showing up each day. Also, don’t feel bad about taking a day off. It’s fine if you are super tired or sore or something comes up. Just jump back into it the next day. 

 

Habits for me are comforting too because it’s one less thing to think about. That’s why I like routines, otherwise, I’ll have decision collision after decision collision and I’ll just stall. I’ll be like a deer in the headlights if there are too many options. I just can’t handle it. So, the gym is just part of my routine now. I hope this was helpful, and I hope you can apply this advice and this story to habits you want to implement into your life to make yours happier, healthier, and wealthier.

 

If you want to connect with me you can find me on Instagram @amyleisner and Tik Tok @amy.leisner. 

 

For some more convenience in your life, check out my free guide here for repurposing your long form content in your business called Spread Your Magic. I give you over 20 ways to repurpose your material all over different platforms and it is a huge time saver!

 

Come learn more great tips for excelling in health and wealth and join us in my Facebook group The Copywriting Girls Club.

 

And if you want to find some other ways to work with me, you can check out my website which is A18media.com.