Make your wellness ‘sticky’!

‘Sticky wellness’ might not sound that appealing but read on because it is exactly what you want. ‘Sticky’ is a concept that was first used to describe websites. Companies who developed websites to interact with their customers and potential customers looked for ways to bring them back again and again to the site. Frequent new information (like my blogs!) created a reason for people to come back to the site and nurtured the relationship that users had to the site and, therefore, the company.

Then came ‘apps’ for your smartphone, your computer, your tablets—all your devices (watches, cars, you name it). A successful app had to find ways to create habitual users—we all know which ones have caught us in their snare! ‘Activation’ was the word then used to describe that moment when the user ‘gets’ the benefit of the app and starts using it repeatedly.

What you want, therefore, is to find that ‘activation’ for your wellness and then to make exercise, healthy eating, a beneficial lifestyle –whatever your see as ‘your wellness’—something that draws you back in over and over and makes it hold your interest. You want to make it ‘sticky’.

The best way to do that is to choose the right behaviors and set the correct goal. Activation is personal—that is often why group classes don’t have the same impact as individual training. You—and only you—can identify what realistic, achievable goal will keep you coming back. Is it about fitness, serenity, flexibility, creativity, weight control, coming back from injury or illness?  Take the time to explore and determine one or two things that truly matter to you, personally. Don’t choose something you think you SHOULD do—whether its ‘lose 5 lbs’ or run a marathon. Choose something that will give you real satisfaction and that truly suits you and your life.

Then find a SHORT TERM way to measure yourself against that goal. Make it attainable. Make it something you can actually quantify--like one meatless dinner per week or doing a ‘plank’ for a minute every day. And then make it ‘sticky’ by checking in on it every week and keeping track. Give yourself huge congratulations each time you achieve this goal. This is a win, you are improving, you are reaching your objective! Change the goal as soon as you find it is not as motivating—it’s too easy, boring, You may push yourself to do more—two dinners, 5 pushups, initiating a new savings plan.... whatever will keep your wellness ‘sticky’. There are many ways to pursue wellness and many of them will be important to you, particularly over time. Designing your goals and actions to be ‘sticky’ will help you constantly grow into living a better life.