Making Change in the New Year - What Really Works?

The New Year frequently brings with it hope - towards a better year, a better lifestyle and positive change. The internet is full of advice about change and goal setting, but it is not necessarily information based on evidence. The focus of this blog is to give you some insight about the biological, psychological, and social foundations of wellness and an easy-to-use, science-based strategy called micro-habits to make small, meaningful change that lasts. My hope is that you can use this information to work on your own wellness and boost your daily dose of joy.

What is Wellness?

When you decide on new change and a new you, it is necessary to understand that research indicates a strong association between physical health and mental health (Fehily et al., 2023; Patel & Mancuso, 2023). How so? Research has illuminated the bidirectional relationship between physical and mental health, indicating what we intuitively suspected - that our physical health impacts our mental health, and our mental health impacts our physical health over our lifetime (Hüfner et al., 2019; Lockett et al., 2018; Marx et al., 2021). These impacts take place through numerous pathways, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, epigenetics, gene expression, mitochondrial dysfunction, gut microbiome, and others. Understanding the five pillars of wellness can help us understand where in our lives to set goals toward positive change (Hüfner et al., 2019; Lockett et al., 2018; Marx et al., 2021). 

The Five Pillars of Wellness

The five pillars of wellness are those areas of our daily life identified in the research that can lead to change in overall well-being - areas that each of us can impact through small, meaningful regular change that lead to our goals. Notice I refer to these as pillars, since they are foundational to good physical and mental health. The 5 Pillars of Wellness are:

• Healthy diet
• Regular exercise,
• Quality sleep,
• Supportive relationships and communities
• Healthy coping skills, such as meditation, journaling, and positive self-talk

Therapists who take my course regularly gravitate to the five pillars; they tell me that the five pillars "are one of the most effective things I do with my clients." Why? Because these are areas we naturally gravitate toward, they are intuitive, and they have flexibility.

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            "The five pillars, they're simple, but not necessarily easy to implement in daily life"

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Ready for some Wellness Change? - Harness the Power of Micro-Habits

The old adage holds that "change is hard." This is because we frequently approach change in a way that is not conducive to success and because our lives are constantly changing. We frequently set broad goals with no clear steps/path about how to reach our larger goal. 

Change, however, can trigger our stress response due to the brain and body's natural movement toward homeostasis. When we do decide to make a change, it frequently does not account for our need for homeostasis and the potential for stress response, and it is not flexible enough to include the constantly changing nature of our lives. So, how can we make change in a way that is homeostasis-friendly and flexible? Micro-habits.

Micro-habits are small evidence-based strategies for creating change that can provide a solid foundation for lifetime wellness. They are tiny habits that take place in 1-5 minutes a day but create positive momentum in the desired direction - much like a snowball rolling downhill. For example, my goal may be to write a book, but there never seems to be time in my life to get that done. By a micro-habit of writing for 5 minutes a day, I make daily progress toward my goal, which leads to new momentum and eventually a book draft!

How to Develop Micro-Habits and Why You Should

Start with a small, easily achievable micro-habit and flexible enough to fit in with changes in your life. Starting small lets you bypass the stress response and quiet your inner critic. The power is in picking one area to focus on at a time, making small but consistent changes, and building momentum by extending time for each habit or by adding habits over time.

For example, start by choosing one of the most relevant pillars to you or where you may have the most motivation. Then, select a micro-habit that can be stacked or paired with something you may already be doing. For example, if you want to add a few minutes of meditation or exercise to your life each day, pair it with waiting for your morning brew or getting in the car to drive to/home from work. Then make small but consistent changes by using a timer starting at 1-2 minutes, then build momentum by using the timer to move yourself to several minutes or more over time - or by adding an additional habit toward your ultimate goal!

Take a look at this article from Inc. about a habit you can do just once a month that psychiatrists say may cut your depression in half: https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/psychiatrists-discovered-doing-this-just-once-a-month-cuts-your-risk-of-depression-in-half/91101252.

Suggested Readings:

I recommend the following books if you want to read more about micro-habits. Please note that I am an Amazon Affiliate and may earn from qualifying purchases:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Mini Habits by Stephen Guise

Resources:

I hope that you find the research on wellness and micro-habits as inspiring as I have, and I wish you success in making changes that bring you better physical and mental health and more joy.

If you want to know more, you can try this:

FREE Online Mental Health Course-5 Minute Mental Health - for a limited time receive this 5-Minute Mental Health Mini-Course (valued at $97) FREE! Here is what is possible:

• Know the non-negotiable key set of habits you need to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression
• Work with your neurobiology (rather than against it) to create lasting change
• No more excuses for why your life is off track
• Quick build momentum to achieve your wellness goals
• Master the art of making small changes that have a big impact on your day-to-day happiness

You can also Go to my Official Site to view my TEDx talk and get free resources and a behind-the-scenes-tour of my talk. 

For therapists wanting to know more and gain psychotherapy training, exercise, and resources, you may want to check out SimplySane, a comprehensive online course for creating lifelong emotional well-being in 5 minutes or less per day.