I tell all my clients that by making small changes that are easy to live with, they will be much more successful.  Anybody can do anything for a finite amount of time.  If you ate chocolate everyday, and I were to tell you that you could no longer have chocolate, you might be able to go without it for a month or two, but at some point, the temptation may become too great and you will have some.  Most likely you will feel guilty, and this could lead to a backslide.  On the other hand, if I told you that it was okay to have chocolate everyday, but asked you to have half as much, that would be a livable change.  The next step would be to have some every other day, and slowly but surely reduce the amount you ate.

Use exercise as an example.  If you don't currently exercise, and I asked you to exercise for 60 minutes, 6 days a week, you might be able to do this for a few weeks, but again, it would be a struggle.  If I were to ask you to have 10 minutes of activity, 3 times a week, the chance of success is much greater.  You might be shaking your head and saying to yourself, "What's 10 minutes going to do for me?"  I'll tell you what 10 minutes will do for you - it'll get you moving!  If you are currently inactive, then 10 minutes of activity, 3 times a week equals 30 minutes of activity that you wouldn't normally have gotten.  Over the course of a month, that's 120 minutes of activity, and over a year, it's 1440 minutes (or 24 hours) of activity that you don't currently get.  I would say that it really adds up!  In fact, one hour of exercise adds 4 hours to your life - that's a pretty darn good return on your investment.

Last updated on October 28, 2008 by Jennifer Malocha