“One day at a time” is so often said that it’s become a popular cliché. Simple statements like this generally become clichés for one particular reason—they work. No matter how large or small your healthy goals might be, there is no better way to approach those goals than pursuing your efforts one day at a time.
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Every day is an opportunity to “win”. No, there is no way to achieve your weight goal in one day. You can’t train for a marathon, crush your weight lifting goal, or learn to swim today either. You can start today with one workout, one healthy meal, and one solid night of sleep. You can consider each accomplishment today a great success and then just do it again tomorrow, and the day after that, with each accomplished task bringing you closer to your ultimate goal. For most people, staring at a long term goal can be overwhelming. The tendency for many is to think that today’s workout doesn’t matter much in the longer term. While missing one workout or one healthy meal is never a reason to stop working toward your goal, that mindset can be a slippery slope. By considering only what you can do today, you can break a months-long goal into achievable steps and celebrate success each day.
Each day is an opportunity to adapt. When you set long-term goals, you necessarily focus on the end result. You know what the end result looks like, i.e. losing twenty pounds, but your ideas about the best ways to achieve that goal might change each day. Instead of throwing out your training schedule when you realize you really don’t enjoy certain workouts, looking at your goal as “one day at a time” allows for adaptations that better fit your lifestyle. You don’t have to quit, throw out the goal, or even start over, you just have to adjust each day as it comes. Some days you may not have time for an hour of cardio, but you do have time for thirty minutes. When that happens, you adapt, do the best you can today, and celebrate your consistency.
Eliminate “someday” and “tomorrow”. When you’re focused on your goals one day at a time, you can eliminate the risk of “someday” and “tomorrow” thinking. If your goal is to get fit “someday,” you can easily revamp your thinking and instead focus on what action you can take today. Just in this twenty-four hours, you can enjoy a healthy meal, find time for a workout, and get an eight-hour night of sleep. You don’t have to think about tomorrow or worry about how you’ll sustain this new healthy lifestyle long term. When you replace “someday” and “tomorrow” with the word “today” you’ve already started on a long term journey.
Do you practice your healthy lifestyle one day at a time? What helps you stay in the present without worrying about the “somedays” and “tomorrows”?
