Making Success Easier to Achieve

One of the significant shifts in my health journey is not that I have worked hard at it (I feel I always have), but that I have become more disciplined. I have always exercised, but my eating habits have changed significantly. I am pretty focused on not only what I eat but when I eat. That has changed a lot for me.

The other night, I had a late flight and landed past the time when I usually eat, and I can tell you, I was pretty hungry. As I was driving to my hotel, I was tempted to stop at the MANY fast food places I had passed along the way. There was a time I would have done precisely that. Those options seemed very convenient to me in the past, and I could take care of that hunger.

But then I started to think, “How will eating something unhealthy feel for me tomorrow?” I know that “right now me” would have felt satisfied, but “tomorrow me” wouldn’t have been so happy.

Back at the hotel, I had some frozen food dinners (Healthy Choice is my go-to!) and sliced chicken breast to add for some extra protein. The five minutes I would have spent in a drive-thru waiting to order food are the same five minutes I could use to microwave this same meal high in protein and rich in vegetables that I also enjoy.

Now frozen dinners might not be as good as a meal with fresh ingredients, but I know that if I had to spend a bunch of time prepping something after a long day, I would have just gone to the easy and unhealthy option.

Essentially, I had created an easy option to eat healthier before I even landed on that plane. Through planning, I made success easier.

Another way I do this is by setting out my clothes to workout the night before, so I am not delayed early in the morning. It is ready to go.

Or, I write down my routine the night before so that I have things that I have planned to do, as opposed to just “floating” around the gym in the morning.

I take unhealthy options away to make success easier.

I do the same thing professionally.

I commit to writing a blog post each week, and everything that happens in my life has the potential to be something to share, and my “notes app” becomes a living notebook of my ideas and thoughts. Knowing that I am committed to that post each week makes me more aware of what is happening in my life and what learning I can share.

Sharing small things throughout the week can lead to more extended reflections in this blog.

For example, on Thursday morning, I shared this James Clear quote on Instagram:

That sat with me in my head as I was hungry at night.

Then the idea for this post came to me in the morning, but I decided to share the 1-minute version on TikTok.

I did this because I knew I could turn it into a blog post that I could expand on. Now, I have met my commitment to writing a blog post for the week.

All of these tiny, intentional steps can lead to success along the way.

Success in the long term, in whatever endeavor, whether personal or professional, is so much more attainable if we set ourselves up to make better choices at the moment.

“Today me” is learning to be much more grateful of “yesterday me” because of those decisions.