Passion

Tip: find powerful reasons for your fitness.

To successfully create new habits, you need to connect them to your deepest values and beliefs. Ask yourself why you want to be fit - beyond just getting into a bikini. Do you want more confidence, joy and energy in your family, professional or live life - or simply in general? Mine your feelings about what is important to you, who you are, and what you stand for, and you'll find fuel for new habits.

Exercise: Write down who or what matters most to you, and how being fit will make a difference.


Priority

Tip: put your heal atop your "to-do" list.

It takes a month or tow to lock in a habit. So, for the next 30-60 days, stop and look at what you're focusing on in you life, outside of fitness, and say "not now" to as many things as you can. Were you going out of town to visit friends? Postpone it. Do you regularly meet the girls after work for drinks? Bow out for a while. You must nurture your new habit now. Treat the changes you're making to reach your fitness goals as minor surgery you suddenly need, with 30-60 days for recovery; this is referred to as "psychic surgery" by James O. Prochaska, Ph.D. in the book Changing for Good.

Exercise: List at least three ways - and the hours involved - that you can make room for fitness in your schedule


Precision

Tip: take small, deliberate steps.

Those who are successful in creating a healthy habit map out the exact details of their diet or exercise, right down to the days and times, even the sets and reps. Then they log what the did, what they ate and how they felt. "Repeatedly, studies show that people who keep a log get results."

Exercise: Create a specific training schedule and/or eat-right plan, including a logbook in which to track your progress.


Programming

Tip: put your emotion in motion.

"If you visualize and feel your purpose, you are forming new pathways in the brain," Mentally noting the fact that you're eating right and exercising, or even picturing yourself doing so, strengthens your resolve.

Exercise: Review your plan when you need inspiration, and/or visualize yourself implementing the details.