5 Steps to Reset Your Wellness Intentions

We are a little more than midway through the year and at a great time to revisit the intentions you had when the year started. Are you happy with where you are today or have those intentions fallen by the wayside? If the latter, you are not alone, but let’s get back on track!

I’ve seriously slipped on one of my intentions for the year–lowering my saturated fat intake. And I blame it all on one thing–BUTTER. I love butter. I think it’s a family thing. Maybe it’s in my genes, as my mom, my sisters, my daughter–we all love butter. I realized it’s even going down the generations to my grandson, as he popped a hunk of straight butter into his mouth when visiting me some time ago. The parental instinct said to chastise him, but how could I when I’ve been known to do the same thing?

In all seriousness, the other night after consuming 2 pieces of bread lathered with garlic butter and a baked sweet potato with way more than a single serving, I then saw the remaining block of butter sitting on the kitchen counter and decided I NEEDED to make shortbread cookies. And don’t think I waited until they were out of the oven to begin enjoying them…

Why is it so easy to slip up on our intentions?

As I went to bed that evening I was frustrated, as this was not an isolated incident. I really want to remain in very good healthy well into my later years, so I can keep doing all the fun things. The thing is, science will tell you, wanting something badly isn’t enough to facilitate change.

When I journaled why I keep slipping up on this intention, I realized that the rules for behavior change associated with making or breaking habits definitely apply and I was breaking all the rules. After thinking about this a bit further, I realized these rules could easily apply to all intentions. After all, habits and intentions are closely aligned. A habit is formed through repetition and can be difficult to break once established. An intention, on the other hand, is more of a conscious decision to act in a certain way.

For starters, did you know that you are 42% more likely to achieve a goal if you write it down? I went back to my spring journal to see how I had written this intention, and you know what? It wasn’t written down! I wrote down many other intentions I had for my health but this wasn’t one of them.

Step 1 - Write it down

So, if you have an intention you haven’t followed through on, Step 1 is to write that intention down somewhere where you are going to read it often. This is why I write mine in the front of my journal. Not only is it in a convenient spot to refresh that intention, but when I slip up, this is my place to reach within myself to figure out why and what I can do differently to get back on track.

Step 2 - Make it in Plain Sight (or Hide it)

In James Clear’s well-known book Atomic Habits, the first rule of behavior change is to make it obvious. The butter was on the table while eating and then lingering on the counter in all its seductive deliciousness while I cleaned up the kitchen. I would have used less and been far less likely to dream up the need to make shortbread cookies while cleaning up if it had it not been in plain sight.

How can you apply this rule of behavior change to your intention to help you get back on track?

Step 3 - Make it Easy (or Difficult)

This is the second behavior change rule outlined by Clear in his book. I’d have been much wiser to put an acceptable amount of butter on my sweet potato before sitting down to the table. It’s not likely I would have gotten up from the table to slather on more butter if it had already been put away.

How can you make following through on your intention super easy for you to do (or difficult conversely, if your intention is not to do something)?

Step 4 - Make it Really Appeal to You (or Repulsive to You)

This rule of behavior change Clear describes as “Make it Attractive.” All butters are not made equal and the butter giving rise to this incident was a high quality one with an excellent flavor. One way to make it appeal less to me would be to purchase another brand that isn’t quite as good. I’ll be honest though, that I’m not going to follow through on this rule and in doing so I acknowledge I’m making it harder on myself. The thing is, if I’m going to consume something like this that I really enjoy, I don’t want to make it repulsive. This just means I need to be firmer on adhering to the other rules and steps in this reboot process.

Think of your own intention. Can you make this rule work in your favor?

Step 5 – Pair Up Your Intention with your Identity 

This too is advice you will find in Atomic Habits. Clear suggests that “the key to building lasting habits is focusing on creating a new identity first”. I believe that this can also be instrumental in keeping with an intention. Devising a short powerful self-affirmation that you can state to remind yourself of who you are and what you do when you are inclined to do otherwise, might just be enough motivation to help you follow through on your intention. Be creative when crafting your affirmation. Let it be something that feels good and exciting when you say it. It has to elicit a strong enough feeling to overcome your temptation.

The statement I came up with to use is: I am an adventurer. To me, this speaks to my desire to hike one of the most challenging trails in Europe and to paddle on multiday trips in the wilderness in the not so distance future. I won’t be doing either of these if I’m not in really good health.

Before you move on to doing anything else, come up with a powerful identity-based affirmation for yourself. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you’d like some help with this–I find creating just the right affirmation to be a fun challenge.

Thanks for reading and best wishes getting back on track with all your intentions!