There is so much you want to achieve – in terms of career, health and family but sometimes you just don’t know where to start. It all feels so overwhelming and makes you give up on the dream altogether. But there is a way out of this loop!

• Be specific about what you want to achieve. “I want to get healthy”, “I want to lose weight” is not specific enough. Give a tangible parameter to your goal. “I want to wake up at 5 am and walk 30 min every morning” sounds more specific.
• Map out your goal. If you wish to lose weight, what should you do? Eat less calories, ensure good water intake, consistent moderate exercise, stay active through the day, get good sleep. In addition to that, building better habits become important too like avoiding snacking, limiting ultraprocessed foods, eating on time, etc.
• Now, if you try to do all of this from day one, you’ll probably give up — that’s why most goals feel unattainable. Instead, break it down to smaller bits and focus on one bit at a time. Start with what seems like the easiest thing to do at the moment and do it every day. Compound on new habits ever week or fortnight. This way, it is not too overwhelming and you are able to manage lifestyle changes along with your career and home.
• Next, before you start anything new make a list of obstacles you might face on the way to achieving it. Troubleshoot each obstacle and work on eliminating it. Simply put, you are trying to find the easiest path to make a habit.
• Similarly, when you want to let go of a bad habit, like doomscrolling late into the night, add obstacles that prevent you from doing it. You can do this by switching on night mode by 9 pm, lock social media apps, leave your phone out in the living room, etc.
• Despite this, you will still encounter hiccups on the go which makes you feel like you failed. But treat this failure as data, not defeat. Figure it out rather than give up. Personalization is key.

It all comes down to this – how badly do you want this? How determined are you to get to where you want to be?

A very essential part of being on a journey to wellness is training your mind. You do not have to do everything perfectly, you just have to show up and do it – perfect or not. Consistency builds automaticity; perfectionism leads to burnout. Build the habit of showing up — and you’ll see growth in your health, your career, and your life.