As a new year begins and the season of overindulgence comes to an end, getting back on track with health and wellness goals moves up the priority list. To begin the process, one top priority for this year’s health and wellness goal should be established. This requires time to reflect on the past year to define what needs to improve to feel secure and confident as you build on healthy habits. To fine-tune the process, consider choosing one area of focus from the four pillars of health, movement strategies, nutrition, sleep, and stress management. Which area is the biggest barrier to achieving your long-term health goals? Write down the top priority to provide the framework for motivation and encouragement as the year progresses.
Establishing boundaries is a critical component of protecting health and wellness goals. Boundary setting is a form of self-care and helps set limits to achieve specific goals. It is a skill that requires practice and self-awareness. Boundaries for health and wellness goals communicate an invisible line to protect physical and emotional well-being while building healthy habits. Once a health goal is established, the tools for protecting your goal will become your healthy boundaries.
Personal boundaries related to health goals can include protecting your physical and emotional well-being, time constraints, and work-life balance. Boundaries need to be clearly defined. I am going to “__________”. Filling in your blank builds a path to assist in accomplishing the goal. A health goal related to increasing weight-bearing activities to combat the progression of osteoporosis, for example, would require personal boundaries related to passive activities. I am going to limit sitting at the computer to 90 minutes. This personal boundary builds in space to sprinkle weight-bearing movement breaks into the workday.
Communicating boundaries is a crucial step to assist in accountability and protecting physical and emotional components related to your health goal. I need you to “________”. This statement conveys your needs clearly to those in your inner circle who care about your health and well-being. Reducing stress by improving work-life balance could be a health goal, and your boundary may involve protecting weekend activities. Conveying your need may include asking your spouse to tend to the kids on a Saturday morning to open time for a self-care activity. I need you to get up with the baby tomorrow so I can go to the gym. Open communication to protect boundaries builds healthy relationships and healthy habits. Practice communicating boundaries first with family and close friends before applying the process to tougher situations. Communication is a skill that needs to be practiced, and most challenging situations are related to lack of communication. Freedom to remove barriers to achieving goals starts with communicating needs respectfully yet firmly.
Boundaries should place healthy choices in your hands. Having a clear understanding of your needs will help you avoid setting expectations that rely on others to fill those needs. For example, if the health goal involves lowering insulin resistance by cutting back on sugar and processed foods, your boundary could involve avoiding the break room at work to eliminate the temptation of grab-and-go snacks.
Start small with boundaries that enhance your desired outcome. Find small things within your control to build gradually and confidently toward healthy habits. A health goal to improve your sleep habits can begin with boundaries related to protecting the quality of sleep by avoiding activities that impact your sleep cycle. This can include exposure to blue light, caffeine, alcohol consumption, and evening snacking. Choosing just one area to explore cause and effect will guide your boundary setting to move forward steadily toward the long-term goal.
Get comfortable with saying no! Healthy habits require firm boundaries, and the art of saying no helps to protect those boundaries. Saying no to situations that directly conflict with a health goal is a great place to start. One example is declining the after-work invitation to happy hour to protect your weight loss goals. Saying no makes your healthy choices a priority and protects your freedom to choose.
Successful boundary setting is directly correlated with staying true to your beliefs and values, and strategies to deal with boundaries crossed. Health goals are personal and linked to your specific needs. Having a solid sense of your identity helps provide the framework to establish goals and boundaries that align with your desired outcomes. Establish a strategy to express emotions safely and calmly when boundaries are crossed. Relationships are strengthened by effective boundaries as trust is built into the process. Self-confidence grows as small steps are made toward health goals and stressful situations diminish as relationships grow.
Why are boundaries so hard? They force us to see personal tendencies that create roadblocks to achieving goals. Acknowledging people-pleasing behaviors, guilt, regret, and fear of failure requires looking inward, which can often open old wounds. This process of avoidance begins as self-protection, yet it results in self-sabotage. A clear understanding of weaknesses guides the specific health goal and the boundaries to support a positive outcome. Continue to assess how effectively the boundary protects or enhances your progress toward the desired outcome. Healthy habits start with small yet firm guidelines and become more flexible as confidence grows. Building healthy habits takes willpower and determination. It is a daily, weekly, and monthly process to tune into how your choices guide the outcome. Successful personal growth is a journey built on healthy boundaries to achieve healthier habits.