How To Beat The Slump Of New Routines

It’s no secret quite a few of the new routines individuals develop tend to get swept under the carpet in the first few months because there’s no clear path to reach their goals. Unrealistic expectations, lofty ideals, and a dedication to continue doing what is comfortable tend to sabotage many who genuinely want to change. How can anyone stand against the tide of sameness and depleted willpower that sweeps us out to sea? There are ways. These small but essential methods can help support anyone seeking a new way of being, a different profession, or any other personal goals and new routines.

Practice Forgiveness And Leniency

Often, when we set goals for ourselves, they require us to venture into unfamiliar territory. This is, after all, one of the aspects of improvement—whether of our physical selves, our careers, or our lives in general. But unfamiliarity often makes setting attainable goals difficult, especially before we begin the work of pursuing them. As we venture forth, challenges manifest. Things are so much more difficult than we imagined, and it’s easy to grow discouraged.

This is the point where individuals usually abandon their initiatives; whether they stop going through the motions or not, their minds are already turning away from those projects. But this is also the point where each of us must practice forgiveness and leniency. It’s vital because otherwise, we’ll avoid the fear or shame of self-disappointment by abandoning our quests. One way to keep pushing forward is to acknowledge to yourself that it’s okay not to be the best at whatever you’re doing. Real progress is not represented by a smooth curve, and there will be setbacks. For instance, overindulging one day isn't the end of a new healthy eating plan, and missing a workout one week isn't the end of the world either. Don't let these setbacks be the end of a new routine. Simply take the setback and get back into the routine. Don't give up!

Uncover another strategy to help get over the slump of a new routine.

Track Your Progress

It may sound silly, but a great way to stay encouraged while pursuing a goal is to track your progress. It should go without saying that even little steps towards a lofty ideal are incredible. They represent a change that did not exist before you made it, and that’s something to be proud of. However, there’s another reason to keep tabs on your journey.

Goals are mental concepts of desired outcomes and your goal intentions—how you plan to attain it—are instructions you give yourself. But what happens between the decision and action to make that decision real? Psychologists have been busy studying this and other aspects of goal-related behavior for decades, and what they discovered is recording progress impacts action. The factors that determine whether the impact is positive or not is how we define progress and how gentle we are with any setbacks or lack of perceived change.

Progress monitoring also benefits from social interaction, which we’ll explore next.