Get started and stay on track with your health goals, one per cent at a time

It’s two weeks into the new year and I'm seeing a lot of people making the decision to start putting health first. Very typical for January.

What's also typical are interruptions, distractions, a crisis, a celebration, etc. Just when you think you've finally got yourself organized to “let's do this!” (whatever “this” is for you) the car breaks down and needs an expensive repair or your hours change at work. Maybe your kids get sick, someone comes to visit, the neighbour needs you to dog-sit. Does this resonate with anyone?

And so you're sitting there thinking what the heck happened? You had things so nicely planned out and coordinated, right? It's called life.

Life happens. And in case you haven't figured it out yet, it's going to keep happening. The good and the not-so-good. We can't control the things that happen to us but we can always control how we react to them. Even when it comes to our health.

When you first think about those little—or not-so-little interrupters—most people see them as just an annoyance—an inconvenience at having to reschedule everything. But do you really have to postpone, put off, push back, reschedule or cancel? I think not. Those little interruptions are part of life.

If life is going to keep “happening,” you have to make a decision. You can be at the mercy of life's interruptions or you can decide not to let them distract you from the things that matter, the things that are important. I was at a workshop years ago and the presenter said something that stuck with me.

He said the important things in life are often bullied and regulated by the urgent things. And it's true.

So how can you get started and stay on track with your health journey even when life is happening around you, to you and at you? Simple. You go all in at one per cent.

The one per cent rule is powerful because it allows anyone to get started with anything, anytime and not fail. It’s because I believe everyone can do at least one thing one per cent better tomorrow than they did today. This is works especially well when life is happening and you're the “all-in” type of person.

When it comes to health, one percent can be drinking more water, parking farther away from the door when you shop, taking the stairs, eating a balanced breakfast with protein when you'd normally just have coffee, and so on. You get the idea.

It allows you to not put off making health a priority and to get started and keep going even when, well you fill in the blank.

Some of you may wonder what's wrong with actually waiting until the storm passes and then diving in full force, fully committed, with no distractions. Well, nothing really. Likely that's how it will work for a lot of you, and that's awesome. But for those who are wondering when, or even if, the crazy will stop, the one percent is for you.

I’m not going to lie, it will take you a little longer to hit your goals. But if you never start, you'll never hit them.

Health is a journey. I like to think of it like a family vacation road trip. You've got everyone packed up, ready to go, you jump in the car, you are cruising down the highway, it’s a nice sunny day and then driving through some small town, you hit road construction.

Traffic is moving slow and you can see the detour sign up ahead. You know it's going to add another hour or so onto your driving time but you take the detour and you arrive at your destination a little late, tired and hungry. But you made it.

Your health is like a road trip and your body is the vehicle that drives you through life. On the family vacation, you wouldn't throw up your hands in frustration, turn the car around and take everyone home just because of a detour, right? Same applies to your health.

As long as you get started and just do one percent better every day and don’t turn the car around, you will get there. You will reach your health, weight or fitness goals because by making a decision to get started and not letting the urgent things bully and regulate your health goals, you're also creating healthy habits that stick. And that's always a win.

If you're ready to get started, you're invited to join 8 Weeks is All it Takes on Facebook where Tania and the group will be living the program right along with you.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.