Live Younger Longer

Be specific 
A good goal is not only realistic but specific. The smaller and
more detailed, the better. If you want to improve your diet, you might start
by adding a single slice of apple to your breakfast each morning. Or if you
don’t eat breakfast, then start with just a single slice of apple. Link these
tiny changes to something you already do.
For instance, if you aim to become more physically active, you could set a
goal of doing at least one pushup or situp during commercial breaks of your
favorite show. To lower your stress levels, you might take three deep
breaths before you open your email account. In choosing specific
microgoals you’re declaring what you will do and when and how you’ll do
it.
Make it fun 
As much as possible, try to choose a new habit you want to add
to your life, rather than something you feel you should do. Start with the
ones that you think will give you some joy or pleasure, even if the good

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feeling mainly comes from a sense of accomplishment. This reward can
help stimulate the dopamine release that helps form the habit memory. The
more you actually enjoy what you’re doing, the more likely you’ll stick
with it.
Go slow and let it flow 
Once you feel confident that you’re able to stick
with a small, new habit, allow yourself to take the next step. It’s likely
you’ll do this naturally, without prompting. For example, if you enjoy your
morning fruit, you’ll probably find it easier to cut out one bite of your
breakfast bacon or egg yolks. You might find yourself doing that second
and third pushup just because you can. You might extend your deep-
breathing practice before reading emails to doing it before meetings or
during your commute because it feels good.
Be flexible 
If one goal isn’t working, be willing to swap for a goal that
does. Say, for example, you’ve decided to go to your local rec center every
day to exercise. But you don’t relish the prospect of getting dressed and
driving somewhere just so you can get sweaty in public. Then change it to a
different, smaller goal and link it to something you already do that you
enjoy. Say you opt to exercise at home in your pajamas while watching
your favorite morning show.
My wife, who is a nurse, and I often sit in the kitchen when we get home
and talk about our day, which we really enjoy doing. Frequently, we’ll have
some cheese and maybe a beverage together. But one day we realized we
were eating about 500 calories of cheese! So we decided to buy a good
cheese knife so we could slice it very thin and also cut slices of apple and
pear to put the cheese on. This way, we took a habit we enjoyed and made it
better by eating healthy but still got the flavor of the cheese without eating
as much.

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Troubleshooting
What happens if you hit a wall while trying to change? We
all stall out sometimes. Here are some tips to help keep you
going: