What is the single most effective thing we can do to shift our mood and make us feel good? Move. Exercise. Lift weights. Run. Stretch and so on. Our mindset has changed when we think of the positive effects of simply moving more and more of us value it now because we’ve had the opportunity to learn how it makes us feel. It’s so powerful. Moving creates momentum in a feel-good direction.

There are so many marginal gains in so many different facets of our mental and physical wellbeing moving promotes. We sleep a bit better, our energy, mood and decision making slightly improves. It can be calming and clearing. And we are humans, we have evolved to move. Moving will support your joints and the health of your body. So many of us live with some form of discomfort because we don’t move enough.

Expert Personal Trainer & Coach Luke Goulden gives his top tips on how to stay motivated and continue the healthy habits you may have picked up since the pandemic….

Value - To ensure your new healthy habits continue, link movement to your highest values in your life and be clear on how it supports you. For example, if your career is one of your highest values right now, link how moving or going for a walk will have a positive impact on your day from a professional standpoint. Will it provide you with more energy, focus and concentration? This means it has more purpose. It's not just a walk. It’s a part of you excelling professionally. If your family is your highest value. Are you a better parent or partner if you have moved? I know personally that if I haven’t moved much, I can feel lethargic and tired and that isn’t me at my best. Think about how moving supports you and your life and link it to your highest value. It can help when you’re struggling with motivation.

Goals- When we start out on a journey to become more fit and well, not many of us stop to take time to figure out why we are doing it in the first place? Especially given how difficult dieting or changing our body can be. Let’s give ourselves every opportunity we can of success. Think about what your goals mean to you, and how much your life might change if you achieve that goal. Setting goals is important because motivation changes and the motivation you have at the start wont be the same in 3/4 weeks time and certainly not 3/4 months time.

Seek Progress Not Perfection - Know that perfection is an expectation none of us can live up to and when you slip up, you never fail, you learn, and then you go again and again and again. Is that not the circle of life? To grow and to learn. To fall on and off the path. Tomorrow what can you do to start creating momentum for yourself? Where can you take a small percentage win in your favour that will positively impact you and your life? Write down a list of things you could do tomorrow to create momentum for you. Would getting to bed 30 minutes earlier serve you better? Taking a break from alcohol? Starting the day with a walk and arranging a call with a friend? Consistency is key. If you show up consistently time and time again doing things that serve you, the life you live will move in the direction you want. Don’t worry if you take a detour off that path just know, you’ll always end up back where you need to be. When you face a challenge, it is never in the way, it’s on the way.

Vision Planning- Think about how you want you life to look in the next 3, 5 and 10 years and even further? Spending time visualising how you want your life to look can be really fulfilling. Not only that, but it allows us to understand better what action needs to be put in place today. Think about how you want your path to look.

Luke Goulden, Personal Trainer & Coach (https://lukegoulden.com)

WELLBEING