• Many of us, including myself, know exactly what is good for us and what we should be doing.  We’ve read the series, “Eat This, Not That” and have a pretty good idea of how to live healthy.  None the less, we often lose sight of our goals and end up falling into a rut of bad habits, without even thinking about it.  I’ve gone through never ending cycles of setting New Year’s resolutions, which generally last for a month or so and then slip away as life gets too busy.  However, focusing on one key factor has helped me succeed in breaking the cycle of failures.  Not only has it worked for me, but it has also helped my kids stay on track with their goals as well.

    The key ingredient is pretty simple and it’s the reason junk food sells so well.  Because it tastes good and is convenient.  So, I focused on that theme alone and out lives have changed dramatically.  As a family, we all wanted to ride our bikes more often but it was such a hassle to get all six bikes out of our cramped garage. So, we often avoided the hassle and just jumped in our car.  Once I got serious about this goal, I decided to clean out the garage and allocate a section, dedicated solely for our bikes, to make it easier and faster to take them in and out. What a world of a difference that made. Our biking doubled immediately.  So, I decided to use some of the extra money we saved on gas, to “trick-out” our bikes with lights and added all the bells and whistles.

    So, I decided to replicate that formula into other aspects of our lives, and it has worked like a charm.  It takes some planning, but we keep healthy foods, snacks, books, musical instruments and other positive influences readily available.  Of course, it isn’t everything but it’s certainly ninety percent of the battle.  Otherwise, people will gravitate to other influences that are readily available, such as television, junk food, etc.  So, make the bad habits not so accessible and replace them with positive influences. It takes some planning, but if you make it fun and convenient, then your family will be more apt to integrate these good habits it into their everyday life.