How to Approach Health and Wellness Goals: A Sustainable Guide

The start of a new year is often filled with ambitious resolutions to improve health and wellness. But let’s be honest: a few weeks in, many of us find those resolutions slipping away. The good news? You can start anytime—you don’t need a calendar milestone to make meaningful changes. Whether you’re reigniting a resolution or just beginning, here are some practical strategies, inspired by industry leaders like James Clear (Atomic Habits) and Darren Hardy (The Compound Effect), as well as our own approach, to help you succeed.

1. Build Habits the Right Way

One of the most important concepts in behavior change comes from James Clear’s Atomic Habits. To build habits that stick, Clear recommends making them:

  • Obvious: Set visual reminders, like placing your water bottle on your desk to prompt hydration.
  • Attractive: Pair habits with something enjoyable, like listening to your favorite podcast during a walk.
  • Easy: Start small. Commit to just two minutes of exercise or prep one healthy meal—you’ll be surprised how often it leads to more.
  • Satisfying: Celebrate small wins, like checking off a daily habit tracker.

Another effective strategy is habit stacking, where you attach a new habit to an existing one. For example: “After I brush my teeth, I’ll do 30 seconds of stretching.” Clear also emphasizes focusing on identity rather than just goals—it’s not about “I want to be hydrated,” but “I am someone who stays hydrated regularly.”

2. Prioritize Strength and Stability

As much as we love yoga, if you’re not currently incorporating strength training or stabilization exercises into your routine, this is a great place to start. Strength training supports bone density, joint stability, and overall mobility—all essential for long-term health. Yoga and stretching are fantastic complements, but if you’re choosing one to begin with, start with strength in moderation.

Quick Tip: Begin with bodyweight exercises or light resistance training 2-3 times per week. You don’t need fancy equipment or long sessions—just focus on controlled movements and proper form.

3. Triage Your Health Goals with Essentials

If adopting healthy eating habits is on your list, start by regulating your blood sugar. This plays a huge role in controlling cravings and sustaining energy throughout the day. It’s incredibly challenging to make smart food choices when you’re dehydrated or sleep-deprived, so tackle those basics first. Hydration and sleep are foundational to everything else—dehydration can mimic hunger, and sleep deprivation disrupts your body’s ability to regulate cravings and recover from activity.

What To Do: If sleep and hydration aren’t already priorities, make them your foundation. Aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep and drink plenty of water daily. Once these basics are in place, focus on balanced meals with protein, fiber, and healthy fats to stabilize blood sugar and curb cravings. Start your day with a glass of water and create a consistent bedtime routine to lay the groundwork for success in other areas.

4. Embrace the Power of “Starting Small”

It’s easy to feel discouraged if you don’t hit every target. But remember, every step counts. If you set a goal to work out daily for 30 days and only manage half, that’s still 15 days of movement you didn’t have before. Celebrate those wins! Small victories build momentum and confidence to keep going.

Instead of focusing on what you didn’t do, reflect on what you achieved. Reward yourself for showing up, even if it wasn’t perfect. You may be starting small, but think big about the person you’re becoming. These small, consistent actions compound over time, as Darren Hardy explains in The Compound Effect.

Quick Tip: Consider a calendar plan where you add in one new goal per month. This increases your chances of success by allowing you to focus on one behavior. Maybe you’ll need to change course mid month in order to find consistency in the second half. Maybe you’ll learn 

5. Design Your Environment for Success

Your environment plays a huge role in shaping your habits. If your goal is to eat healthier, stock your fridge with prepped fruits and veggies, and keep healthy snacks within easy reach. If you want to stretch more, keep a yoga mat in plain sight where you’ll see it often. Creating an environment that encourages the behaviors you want to build makes it easier to take action and stay consistent. On the flip side, you can minimize distractions by removing temptations—for example, keeping sugary snacks out of sight or turning off notifications during your designated workout time. Small tweaks to your surroundings can reduce decision fatigue and make healthy choices the default rather than the exception. Remember, your environment should set you up for success, not create obstacles to overcome.

Quick Tip: Create a space that encourages the habits you want to build, and minimize distractions or temptations that pull you away from your goals.

6. Don’t Wait to Start

If your New Year’s resolutions didn’t stick, don’t worry. Healthy habits aren’t limited to January—you can start any time. What matters is making a decision today to take action. Whether it’s the middle of the year, a random Tuesday, or right after reading this post, every day offers a new opportunity to start fresh. The key is to shift your mindset from seeing setbacks as failures to recognizing them as part of the process. Even small steps taken today can lead to big changes over time. Remember, progress doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful—what counts is that you keep moving forward.

Our Take: Shift your mindset from “I missed my chance” to “I’m starting now.” Every day is an opportunity to move closer to your goals.

7. Read and Stay Inspired

If there’s an area in your life you wish to improve (such as, ahem… health habits), consider picking up a few books on the subject. While many books may cover similar themes, each often holds at least one golden nugget of insight that can make a difference. Additionally, reading about your goal throughout the year helps keep it top of mind, making it easier to stay focused over time.

If you’re looking to build habits and focus on consistency (directly relates to the ability to build health and wellness habits), you could start with the books we mentioned before –  Atomic Habits by James Clear or The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. There are books on hobbies, healthy habits, financial goals, mindfulness and stress management, relationships and communication, professional development, decluttering and organizing, overcoming challenges and building resilience… you name it! These resources can provide actionable strategies but continuing to read about the same subject over and over helps with focus and continuous motivation. Think of it as a way to surround yourself with expert advice and inspiration as you build the life you want.

Quick Tip: Pick one topic to read about for an entire year. Even if you read other books, always read at least a little every week on the subject you want to keep in focus.

8. Ask for Help When You Need It

When it comes to building healthy habits, ask yourself: is it more important to do it on your own, or to actually achieve your goal? Sometimes, our ego can get in the way, making us feel like we have to manage everything ourselves. Being honest with yourself is the first step. Once you recognize where you need support, you can get creative and find ways to make your goals a reality. Whether it’s hiring a coach, joining a class, or leaning on a trusted friend, asking for help can often mean the difference between stalling and thriving.

Our Take: At Life Moves MT, we’re here to help you create a personalized plan that aligns with your goals and lifestyle. From improving mobility to managing stress, we’ve got your back (literally!). Let’s work together to turn your aspirations into achievements.

Final Thoughts

Health and wellness are journeys, not destinations. Start small, focus on consistency, and allow yourself grace along the way. Whether it’s strength training, eating healthier, or simply drinking more water, every step forward is progress worth celebrating.

So if your resolutions have faltered, don’t give up—just start again. Remember, sustainable success is built one small habit at a time. You’ve got this!