5 Steps To Upgrade Your Lifestyle With Change Prep

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 “𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲” 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁.

We think about changing certain aspects of ourselves all the time:

“I want to eat healthier so I have more energy.”

“I want to hit the gym so I can build some muscle.”

“I want to add yoga to my routine for relaxation.”

We make a mental note to do something about these thoughts, right? Sometimes, we’re able to actually pull it off. Having a strong intrinsic motivation and an existing skillset or experience absolutely makes it easier to get them done with, no sweat.

Other times, we shrug and force ourselves to accept things for the way they are.

Maybe we lack real motivation to even take the first step forward.

Maybe there are mental blockers that override our willpower.

Maybe it’s just too difficult.

This is generally how most of us function. We see change as bold actions taken to get to a better place, and waiting to see where the chips fall.

Except change isn’t just about action.

Just as we need a recipe to prepare a meal, we need a plan to prepare for change.

Let’s say that the change you want is to develop a new habit of working out early in the morning. Again, I’m not talking about making a mental note like these:

“I guess I can give this a shot.”

“I’ll set an alarm, I can probably get this done.”

“Let’s see if caffeine can help me power through this.”

These are plans of action with zero prep, with just the minimal effort put in to convince ourselves we can get it done. And we wonder why we fail.

We can certainly do better with a plan of action. Let’s try including a stage called, “change prep” between our ideation point of creating a change and taking action to bring it to life:

💡𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲.

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

🤔 “Am I naturally a morning person? If not, how can I motivate myself to wake up early and prepare to work out?”

🤔 “What exercises am I generally recommended to begin with for my age, gender, experience level, and physique? Can I do this at home or at the gym? Do I personally find these to be doable?”

🤔 “How much macros should I be taking in before and after the workout to be able to sustain this practice?”

💡𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲.

😊 “I am fully capable of achieving this goal that I have set for myself.”

😊 “I feel that working out first thing in the morning prepares me to take on whatever the day has to offer.”

😊 “I am grateful for my body, and am willing to do what it takes to lose weight for my own good.”

Again, it helps if these are personalized according to your own beliefs and what you feel would get you out of bed. Even if you think these are corny, give them a shot, they could very well be the missing ingredient you’re looking for.

💡𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯-𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧. 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹.

🗒️“I want to tidy up my workout space for five minutes first, while listening to upbeat music.”

🗒️“I want to do twenty stretches before I start my first rep.”

🗒️“I want to take two breaks of ten minutes each to cool down between these high-intensity exercises.”

It is essential that you optimize your sub-goals until they help you feel that you have the ideal mindset and conditions to put your best foot forward.

💡𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

👌“I will keep my insta notifications off so I don’t check them out as soon as I’m off the bed.”

👌“I will finish preparing my to-do list for the day before I go to bed rather than after waking up.”

👌“I will grab an energizing fruit smoothie so I can get over my morning blues as soon as I can.”

Not all barriers can be accounted for or resolved. But don’t feel disheartened and delay your action until all of them are addressed, that might never happen. Try your best to address what you can.

💡𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁.

Personal change is only an individual process if you decide that it has to be that way. You will have people around you who strive to make a change in their own lives, and who would love to know about the steps you’re taking in your journey. Even if there are those who can’t empathize, there could be those who sincerely care about how you’re doing.

It could also be a mental health professional who can be an anchor for you to check in with, and listen to their expertise regarding your progress. It’s hard to take initiative and let people in sometimes, but taking a chance and having faith is part of the deal.

This way, you’ll be mentally prepared to enact your change. If and when you find yourself relapsing or going back to your old habits, it will be substantially easier to get back on track. You will have the following investments to tap into so you don’t have to start from square one:

✨ Existing knowledge and experience

✨ Self-confidence

✨ A detailed mental roadmap

✨ Solutions for obstacles

✨ Well-wishers

There will be hurdles, for sure, but with some willpower and luck, preparation will get you out of bed sooner than you could imagine.

You’ll know your change prep is over when you’re fully confident that you can dip your toes in the water.

Hope big, but start small.

Next time, when your mind suggests a mental note, make one to reserve some time to change prep instead.