Looking to start working on yourself? Here are 8 tips on how to start a wellness journey for a healthier and happier you.
Embarking on my wellness journey was a turning point in my life. I’ll be honest, like many people, I struggled—a lot. At first, I had no idea where to start, but slowly, as I educated myself on the right way to begin a wellness journey, everything started to fall into place. Today, I want to share with you a short guide on how to start a wellness journey, one that I’ve created through my own experiences and discoveries.
My wellness journey officially began about two years ago. However, it wasn’t until last year that I felt like I was truly doing things ‘properly.’ The reason for my journey was deeply personal—I wanted to regain a sense of myself after becoming a mother. I knew that for my family to thrive, I needed to prioritize my own health. The challenges with my mental health after giving birth made this even clearer. It was a realization that led me to seek change and, most importantly, to educate myself on how to improve both my physical and mental well-being.
Along the way, I’ve learned invaluable lessons and gained insights that have transformed not only my life but also my family’s.
A few weeks ago, I published a blog post about 10 things you should know before starting a wellness journey. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend doing so before diving into this post. Click HERE to read more. It provides the foundation for what you should know as you start your wellness journey.
This post is all about how to start a wellness journey.
How To Start A Wellness Journey
8 Tips On How To Start A Health And Wellness Journey
1. Assess Your Current Lifestyle
Evaluating your current lifestyle is like looking in a mirror before starting your wellness journey – it shows where you stand. It’s your starting point, the base for building a healthier and happier you.
When I began my wellness journey, I first took a good look at my life. I discovered some important facts. We were ordering unhealthy takeout twice a week, exercise was irregular (sometimes, I’d go a whole month without it), and my sleep patterns were all over the place.
So, I made a plan: cut down on takeout, commit to weekly exercise, and find strategies for healthier habits.
As you assess your own lifestyle, think about these questions:
- How do you honestly feel about your well-being right now?
- Are there habits impacting your health?
- Is your physical health getting the attention it deserves?
- Do you make time for activities you enjoy?
- Are there stressors you need to address?
- How’s the quality and duration of your sleep?
- Do you have a sense of purpose and fulfillment?
Answering these questions helps prepare the foundation for your wellness journey. It pinpoints areas needing improvement, making the next step (goal setting) easier.
2. Set Clear Goals
Once you’ve taken a good look at your current lifestyle, the next step becomes much easier. In fact, you can set various goals, not just improving what you’re doing now. For instance, when I began my journey, I aimed to enhance my eating habits and workout routine. However, I also set a new goal—to prioritize my mental health through daily self-care practices.
Setting goals is an important part of the process, and breaking them into manageable tasks is the key to success. Consider this: if you’re looking to eat healthier, rather than changing your entire diet at once, start with a single healthy meal each day. I kicked off by changing my breakfasts and replacing sugary store-bought cereals with homemade, sugar-free, high-protein, and fiber-rich alternatives. Gradually, I incorporated healthy lunches, snacks, and dinners. It’s all about taking it slow.
Remember, setting a goal isn’t about going all-in from the get-go. It’s about breaking it down into manageable tasks that will help you achieve your end goal.
To help you set these goals, consider using the SMART method:
- Specific: Make your goal clear and well-defined. What do you want to achieve? Why is it important? How will you get there?
- Measurable: Ensure your goal is measurable so that you can track your progress and know when you’ve succeeded.
- Achievable: Make your goal realistic and within reach, considering your resources and skills.
- Relevant: Align your goal with your values.
- Time-Bound: Set a timeframe for your goal to create urgency and prevent procrastination.
Applying the SMART criteria transforms vague ideas into actionable, achievable objectives. For instance:
- Non-SMART Goal: “I want to get in shape.”
- SMART Goal: “I will lose 10 pounds in the next three months by exercising for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, and by following a balanced diet. I will track my progress weekly.”
So remember setting yourself SMART goals is a key step on how to start a wellness journey.
Similar Posts You May Also Like:
- 10 Essential Things To Know When Starting Your Wellness Journey
- 10 Tips: How To Stay Consistent With Working Out
- Mental Health And Exercise: The Path To Inner Balance
3. Don’t Copy Trends
Don’t copy every trend you come across on social media. While it’s perfectly fine to get inspired, copying isn’t the way to go. Everyone’s journey is unique, and what works for someone else may not work for you. However, if you spot a trend that aligns with your goals and can genuinely help you, then by all means, embrace it! Here are some reasons why mindlessly copying every trend isn’t the best approach:
1. Short-Term Focus: Trends are here today, gone tomorrow. Relying solely on trends may not lead to sustainable, long-term wellness.
2. Individual Differences: Wellness is a personal journey. What benefits one person might not suit another due to variations in genetics, lifestyle, and preferences.
3. Sustainability: A wellness journey should prioritize lasting well-being. Trends often lack sustainability and can lead to burnout or frustration.
Instead of copying trends, consider a more thoughtful and customized approach to your wellness journey. Experiment with various wellness practices and with what aligns best with your unique goals and values. Ultimately, a wellness journey should revolve around informed, sustainable choices that enhance your overall well-being.
4. Increase Your Knowledge
I wish I’d taken the time to educate myself from the very beginning! It would have saved me so much time and effort, but, on the bright side, I’ve learned valuable lessons through my mistakes. Understanding the importance of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management is vital for maintaining good health.
Here are two of the benefits I have experienced from educating myself through podcasts, books, and YouTube videos:
Long-Term Success: Having a good understanding of wellness basics helps you make lasting changes in your daily life instead of seeking quick fixes. This way, you’re on a path to long-term success and can keep up your progress.
Motivation: Learning how wellness practices positively impact your health can be highly motivating. Knowledge serves as a reminder of why you embarked on your wellness journey in the first place.
I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge from listening to podcasts. For instance, I discovered that stress can hinder fitness results, impact gut health, and affect mental well-being. This is why I have been incorporating daily self-care in my morning and night routines to ensure I have stress under control. So educating yourself can really help you improve on your wellness journey.
5. Track Progress
Keeping track of your wellness journey is a game-changer. Whether through a journal or wellness apps, monitoring your progress boosts accountability and shows how much you’ve achieved.
Tracking is your consistency secret weapon. Consider investing in a planner with a tracking section to note daily activities aimed at making you healthier and achieving your SMART goals.
I began the year tracking, and now it’s second nature. It can even help you form habits—they say it takes around 60 days to establish one. So, get tracking and make progress part of your routine!
6. Stay Consistent
Consistency is the secret to long-term success. Don’t get disheartened by setbacks; see them as chances to learn and grow. Consistency is the path to developing self-discipline, where being healthy becomes part of who you are.
It’s not about the duration of your workouts or the length of your morning or evening routines—it’s all about how consistent you are. Quality beats quantity. Focus on maintaining that consistency rather than obsessing over the duration or volume.
Even if life throws you off track for a day or two, it’s absolutely fine! Remember, the real goal is long-term consistency. Once you’ve built self-discipline, even after a week off due to a vacation, for example, getting back on track is easy because your wellness journey is a part of who you are.
Here are some strategies that have worked wonders for me in staying consistent:
1. Scheduling: Treat your healthy habits like you would a doctor’s appointment. Put them in your schedule to make them a priority.
2. Tracking Progress: Creating a streak can be motivating. The more consistent you are, the more appealing it becomes. This builds your consistency until it turns into self-discipline.
3. Habit Stacking: This technique helps you establish new wellness habits and maintain consistency. Identify a habit you already do consistently, like brushing your teeth in the morning. If you want to start a morning exercise routine, link it to your existing habit. After brushing your teeth, immediately do a 10-minute stretch or workout. Repeat this every day until it becomes a consistent habit.
By staying consistent and employing these strategies, your wellness journey becomes a natural part of your life, leading you toward your health and wellness goals with ease.
7. Be Flexible And Enjoy The Process
To truly enjoy your wellness journey, it’s essential to stay flexible and set manageable tasks for yourself. This starts by examining your current lifestyle and figuring out how each goal can fit into your daily routine.
For instance, if your goal is to work out five times a week, it’s crucial to be flexible. Ask yourself how much time you realistically have for exercise during the day. Many of us begin with ambitious one-hour gym sessions, but that’s not manageable for everyone. When I first started my wellness journey, I tried to squeeze in hour-long workouts 4 to 5 times a week, and guess what happened? I ended up quitting because it was too much to handle, and I didn’t enjoy it. That’s when I realized that flexibility is the key to consistency. As a parent, I found I could only spare 10-30 minutes, and by doing short home workouts, I could stay consistent and reach my goals.
Another aspect of flexibility is understanding that life can sometimes get in the way. There might be days or even weeks when you can’t complete a task as planned. The key is to stay consistent in the long term and not give up just because you missed a few days or a busy week. It’s about your journey’s duration, not what you achieve in a short span.
Lastly, remember to focus on enjoying the journey rather than obsessing over the results. Marry the process, divorce the results. By adopting this mindset, you’ll find more satisfaction in your wellness journey.
8. Adapt And Evolve
Stay open to adjusting your wellness plan as needed because our needs evolve over time. Your journey will have different chapters: a plan at the start, changes in the middle, and updates by year-end. This is perfectly normal since our wellness needs can shift.
For example, when I began, my goal was to shed baby weight through weight loss. However, after educating myself (step 5), I realized that focusing solely on weight loss was causing muscle loss. So, I adapted my plan, shifting from cardio to prioritizing weight training.
Understanding that your goals and plans can change is vital. It’s a sign of growth, evolution, and learning. Embrace change, as it shows you’re becoming more knowledgeable on your journey. Don’t fear it; welcome it as a part of your wellness evolution.
Remember that how to start a wellness journey is a personal and ongoing process. It’s not about perfection but about making consistent efforts to improve your well-being over time. Start small, be patient with yourself, and enjoy the journey towards a healthier and happier life.
I hope you found these tips valuable!
Make sure to follow my socials – Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Amazon Storefront, and LikeToKnowIt – for more healthy lifestyle content!
Lots of love, Mariam x
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This post was all about how to start a wellness journey.
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