Happy Changes for Happy Eating

One of the secrets of making changes that stick, is starting so small that you don’t wake up the Chicken Little part of your brain. You’re setting yourself up for success, because even the tiniest of successes are encouraging (and multiply).

Yes I know, there’s also the hard part of starting small.

You want to make a change now dammit!

And that tiny step is still So. Far. Away. from what it is you really want.

I’m asking you to trust me on this.

At a minimum, you’ll get at least that tiny step closer (which you aren’t doing now) and, the much more likely scenario, it’s just the first step to getting what you really want.

And that’s the idea behind Happy Changes. A list of tiny changes you can experiment with over the next week. And beyond.

Choose one of these things, one that feels completely and utterly doable to you, even if you aren’t sure it will make a difference, and play with it this week. Let me know how it goes here, in the comments, on twitter (using the hashtag #happychanges) or Facebook.

Happy Eating

I’ve been hearing quite a bit lately from clients and friends about wanting to change eating habits. Eliminating this or adding more of that to their diets for wellness or weight loss or ethical reasons. And the ensuing struggles and shoulds that pile up around eating — what they should eat, how they should eat, what they shouldn’t eat, when they should eat.

While I’m not necessarily trying to make that kind of diet change, I’ve been noticing that even though my training has slowed down, my eating hasn’t. I don’t want it to become an issue. And I don’t want it to be stringent or forced.

Seems like a perfect time to play with some happy changes around eating.

Here are some ideas — choose one to play with this week — no expectations, other than to be curious and have fun with it!

1. Check in with Future You before eating anything — how will you feel after you’ve eaten it?
2. Put your fork down between every bite.
3. Get adventurous and try several new foods this week.
4. Smile at your food before eating it.
5. Imagine Morgan Freeman or Emma Thompson narrating your meals; describing what you’re preparing, what it tastes like, what you feel like having eaten it.
6. If you want to eat less of something (gluten, sugar, caffeine, dairy, etc.), get really clear on what you hope to gain by having less of it and revisit that every time you consider eating it.
7. If you want to eat more of something (veggies, protein, etc.) come up with ways to sneak it into your regular eating habits, like finely chopped broccoli and carrots in spaghetti sauce, or add beans to your salad or vegetables or eggs or soup.
8. Decide on another tiny way to play with eating, and please, share it!

I’d love to hear how it goes, either here in the comments, on twitter (using the hashtag #happychanges) or on the Perception Studios Facebook page.

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Check out all the past Happy Changes.

Photo Credit: Favorite Toothbrush by r000pert