
Healthy Living Your Way

Wanting to become healthier and live a healthy lifestyle is universal, but the methods 
you choose to do it and what you consider “healthy” is often unique to you.

The great thing about having more knowledge on topics of health and wellness are that 
people can choose what information they resonate with, and what they don’t. Living a 
healthy lifestyle is not choosing the perfect diet, the ideal workout plan, or trying to do 
what everyone else is doing. It is a deeply personal decision, and every step of the way 
should be unique to you, your goals, and your lifestyle. 

The following pages will give you an easy way to discover what healthy living means to 
you and how to create goals, reflect on your priorities, and find a flexible and realistic 
way to live a healthier lifestyle. This is not advice on sticking to a diet or losing weight, 
but rather looking at healthy living through your own eyes and creating a healthy 
lifestyle in a way that fits you the best.


Be Where You Are Right Now

As much as you might not want to hear it or accept it – slow and steady does win the 
race. Approach healthy living from the place you are right now, on day one, instead of 
where you wish you were at this moment, or where you want to be in 6 months or a 
year. 

Healthy living your way isn’t about doing anything extreme or changing every single 
aspect of your entire life, just to live a healthy lifestyle. Instead, it should be about small 
choices, sustainable habits, and purposeful changes you make along the way.


Where are you right now? 

Think realistically about your current health at this moment. Do you feel okay in your 
body, or are you a little tired and stiff? Do you feel like you have a good handle on 
healthy meals, but maybe eat out a little too much? Are you amazing at personal 
hygiene, but when it comes to self-care, you fall behind a little?

These are things to consider when you are deciding on healthy living your way, 
beginning with where you are now. Don’t worry, soon we will think where you want to be 
in the future, and set some goals to get you there! 





Know Your Priorities

Before you can set your healthy living goals, you first need to consider what your 
biggest priorities are. Your priorities are closely connected to your “why” for this health 
journey. The reasons you are trying ot make healthy changes in your life, why you think 
your lifestyle needs a boost, and why healthy living is such an important part of your 
future. 


What is Your Why?

Start by making a list of every reason you can think of that you want to have a healthier 
lifestyle. What originally motivated you to make healthy changes? What do you feel you 
are falling behind on? What part of healthy living appeals to you? Which part makes you 
feel a little afraid?

Write down everything you can think of, whether it is losing weight, feeling better in your 
skin, getting more energy, boosting your memory, feeling happier, reducing stress, 
improving your health stats, being a good role model for your kids, and any other reason 
you have thought of. 

This becomes the core for what your priorities are, but don’t stop yet. We have one 
more list to make. 


What Are Your Biggest Priorities?

From that list, you probably already have some ideas of what your priorities are. Look at 
the trends and patterns in what you wrote down, and start making a list of what your 
priorities are on this journey. Maybe you want to focus more of your attention on your 
nutrition and exercise routine, or you feel like you want to switch some bad habits for 
good ones.  


Set Attainable Goals

Once you know your priorities, it will be a lot easier to set goals. Why should you set 
goals for healthy living? It is definitely optional, but it can help a lot to have something to 
focus on, a goal you are trying to reach. Goals make it easier to know what choices to 
make, and have something to strive for.

You can definitely still live a healthy lifestyle without specific goals you are trying to 
reach, but you might find it hard to stay motivated and be consistent with it. When you 
have a goal in mind, you have a primary focus, and it becomes much easier to be 
persistent. 


Number One Rule With Setting Goals

There are many guidelines for setting goals, but the number one rule should be that 
they are attainable and sustainable. Dreaming is amazing and can give you something 
to work toward, but when your dreams are extreme, the goals become hard to 
accomplish. When you set a goal you will likely not reach for a very long time, you end 
up giving up, and then over time, lose faith in yourself entirely.

A better option is to choose goals you know you can achieve, that are also sustainable 
for you once you get there. If your goal is to lose weight, don’t make a goal to reach an 
extremely specific and small number on the scale that would take a long time for you to 
achieve and even if you did, almost impossible to maintain. 


Find What You Love About Healthy Living

A great way to focus on healthy living your own way is to find what you love about it. 
Can you romanticize your healthy lifestyle in some way? Maybe you change your 
environment to accommodate your healthy habits, and while doing so, add a little 
ambiance. You have an area at your desk for journaling, but you don’t stop there. 

You add candles and essential oil diffusers, you put up relaxing and soothing artwork for 
meditating and mindfulness, you have your favorite books and other items on your desk 
that make you feel inspired. This is how you can go one step further to romanticize and 
enjoy this entire experience.


Keep Good Company With Likeminded People

While this can be considered an optional tip for healthy living, it is one that sometimes 
makes all the difference. The fact is, making lifestyle changes is hard, and when you are 
constantly surrounded by people who don’t support it, it’s a lot more difficult.

Consider how difficult it sometimes is just to make your own rules and set your own 
boundaries and say no on your own. Now imagine it when other people are also 
pushing things on you, or their lifestyles are just so vastly different from yours, that it’s 
hard to spend time with them without compromising your own healthy habits. 

Now is a good time to start surrounding yourself with likeminded people who have 
similar health goals. They don’t have to have the exact same goals, but at least who are 
health-conscious and want to do similar activities. 

Maybe you find new walking or hiking buddies, or you spend more time with friends who 
enjoy going to brunch at healthier restaurants. You might find a friend who wants to go 
to meditate with you, or a family member who really loves meal prepping. 

The more people you surround yourself with that have similar health goals, the much 
easier this transition is going to be for you.


Embrace Slow and Simple Living

You might also find that changing how you live your life on a day-to-day basis, not just 
with your habits, but the way you approach everything, makes a difference. Healthy 
living and slow living often go hand-in-hand, because your focus shifts to yourself. 

Your time is spent less on the grind and doing as much as you can and constantly going 
out, and more on looking inward, focusing on your routines and habits, and trying to find 
more peace and balance in your life. 

While not always necessary, embracing more of a slow and simple lifestyle might make 
it an easier transition to healthy living.


Focus on Just One Change at a Time

One of the most important parts of healthy living your way is going at a slower pace 
when adding it new habits and routines. Try to focus on just one change at a time in 
your life. This is not about all-or-nothing thinking, where if you don’t go full throttle from 
day one, you won’t succeed.

Adding in new habits takes time. You can’t do everything perfectly from the very first 
day. Think of just one change you want to make right now that you consider healthy for 
you, and add that into your routine. Once you begin doing that new healthy habit without 
having to think about it, that is how you know it is time to add another one. 

Whether you use a habit tracker, habit stacking, or start adjusting your routines overall, 
this is the best way to go about it for sustainable changes.

