
How you can change your wellness routines without changing your identity
Everyone wants to feel their best, but it can be easy to feel like the wellness industry only offers solutions that take over your life instead of fitting into them.
Whether it’s training for a marathon, meditating every morning, or getting really into Hyrox, the all-or-nothing approach to feeling good seems to be for people that don’t have a million things to get done every day.
The reality is that wellness isn’t one thing. It’s all about feeling your best every day. And the key isn’t all out commitment, it’s tiny things that you do as a favor to yourself.
Make good decisions, not the best ones
How to feel good doesn’t have to become a full-time research project. Instead of spending hours working out the best thing to do in every situation, it’s way easier to start with just trusting your intuition.
When it comes to wellness, choose intentions over goals1. Instead of setting a goal to walk 10,000 steps a day or get 60g of protein a day, just set the intention to walk more or eat more protein. It’s the same outcome with less of the pressure. And it lets you find opportunities to make decisions that make you feel good instead of making you feel bad when you fall short.
Do more of what feels good
The key to sticking to anything is to enjoy it. And wellness isn’t any different. The best way to build a routine to work for you is to listen to your body and do more of what already feels good.
If you know that taking a walk after dinner makes you feel great, or eating a protein packed snack between meals helps you avoid crashing during the workday, then make that a non-
negotiable part of your day. It’s a great way to guarantee that you’re doing something that makes you feel good every day and can become a jumping off point to add even more2.
Make things easier for your future self
So much of doing anything just comes down to deciding that you will. One great way to make sure that you’re staying consistent is to do the work before you have to make the decision. If you want to start off your day with a nutritious breakfast, then you’re doing your future self a big favor by making it the night before. That way, it’s already done before you have the chance to feel like not doing it.
The same goes for snacking. If you want to avoid sugary snacks that don’t actually keep you full, you can prep a high-protein one3 that you have on hand so you’re not scrambling to find the least-bad candy bar at the convenience store.
Wellness doesn’t have to be overwhelming. And it doesn’t have to be your entire personality either. Just pay attention to what feels good, check in with yourself, and be intentional about taking care of your body.
Meaningful change doesn’t come from the big, flashy, or sudden things. The best results actually come from the opposite – small, quiet, and consistent habits that stack up over time to make you feel great more often. Things that anyone can do, which includes you too.