Everyone wants to live a happy, healthy, and long life. More often than not the realization that some changes are in order comes around the New Year’s.
We scour the internet to find the surest way to switch to a healthier lifestyle and to stick to it, we look for quotes on healthy life to get inspired and motivated, we invest big bucks into new kitchen gadgets to make healthier food or into gym memberships or sports equipment to get fitter.
Among those who have a News Year’s Resolution for next year, boosting physical health is the top theme, with 55% saying they plan to work out/be more active in the year ahead. Just under half plan to focus on eating healthier (47%) and/or focus on their finances (45%, save more money, buy a house, pay-off debt, etc.).
Ipsos.com
- But… How Many Will Actually Stick to That Big Plan?
- Psychology of New Year’s Resolutions
- 1. Make sure you are going for that set goal for the right reasons.
- 2. Don’t go for huge goals but rather focus on micro-goals that you can manage.
- 3. Be prepared to “fail”, pick yourself up, and start again.
- 4. If possible, find a “partner in crime”
- 5. Reward yourself once you’ve reached a goal or a portion of it.
- Some Helpful Quotes on Healthy Life to Keep you Motivated and On Top of Your Goal
But… How Many Will Actually Stick to That Big Plan?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Forget New Year’s Resolutions! I can imagine, sometime in the past, you made a solemn plan to change your lifestyle once and for all on New Year’s Eve.
And if you did, you will likely know that these kinds of “plans” rarely work the way they were supposed to work.
That expensive gym membership remains unused, the promise to quit sugar fails around Valentine’s Day, the stationary bike starts collecting dust or turns into a coat hanger in the corner of your bedroom.
RELATED POST: Forget New Year’s Resolutions
This doesn’t mean however that eyeing the goal of switching to a healthier lifestyle cannot be a good path to the goal of a happier, healthier you. And, when we embark on this path of change, some motivation can indeed be fundamental.
Psychology of New Year’s Resolutions
Most of us are conscious of the tremendous benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Still, it is not always easy to stick to the plan that is supposed to change our life for the better. Old habits die hard, right?
Even if not easy, it is definitely possible and a few simple steps might make sticking to the plan a bit more manageable:
1. Make sure you are going for that set goal for the right reasons.
Better nutrition and starting a fitness regimen are great goals but they might fail the mark if the person pursues them for the wrong reasons.
Losing 50 lbs in the span of a few months to fit that bikini by June might not be the healthiest approach (neither for physical or mental health).
But changing the diet and getting in some exercise to improve your heart health definitely is.
2. Don’t go for huge goals but rather focus on micro-goals that you can manage.
I am in awe of those who can get off sugar completely, but after trying it multiple times, I know it is not for me. I tried to “quit sugar” a few years back. I failed miserably. Tried again, failed again.
The goal was just too drastic and too difficult to stick to. Instead, I decided to “micronize” the plan to manage my sugar intake.
Instead of quitting it altogether, I don’t keep any sweets in the house during the week and have a sweet dessert on the weekend.
3. Be prepared to “fail”, pick yourself up, and start again.
Wouldn’t you want to be a super-human who can achieve everything on the first try?
In truth, a great majority of us will take a few attempts to actually stick to the original plan.
Sometimes it’s about the world around us and life getting hectic and unpredictable, other times it’s about our own need to learn and re-learn before a new habit of formed and can replace that old one.
Don’t beat yourself up if you “fail” on that first or third or even fifth try.
What matters is not so much when but if. Even if you tried to quit smoking twenty times before, once you really quit it, it won’t matter how many times you tried.
I find it most helpful to utilize some affirmations to stay motivated, jump back onto that wagon, and keep trying.
4. If possible, find a “partner in crime”
I often hear people talk about co-dependency when it usually refers to two or more people “partnering” in bad behavior: abusing alcohol or drugs, smoking, eating unhealthful, etc.
If that kind of co-dependency keeps people continuing on that same path, logically it must be also possible to bring the best of each other by “partnering in crime” while making the healthy switch.
Back to my story with sugar – as long as the rest of the family was not keen on trying the weekend-only treat policy, I was doomed to failure. It all changed once we all decided – for the good of everyone – to keep our desert days to weekends that I was able to stick to the plan.
The “buddy system” when attempting the switch to a healthier lifestyle doesn’t have to be limited to people living in the same house. You could ask a friend to keep you accountable by reminding you to send them daily or weekly reports on your progress.
5. Reward yourself once you’ve reached a goal or a portion of it.
Once you set your micro-goals or break up a larger goal into chunks, set up a reward system to keep you going. Everyone likes getting rewarded and there are myriad ways to do it.
You can “pay” yourself but setting aside money for a big trip in the future or you can buy something small that will remind you of the goal that you have just achieved.
Treat yourself to a massage or a new haircut, buy a new record to unwind to, or go to the movies on a random night and cherish the “I did it” feeling.
With all this in mind, a few wise words from wise men and women can help us all on the path to a healthful change.
Some Helpful Quotes on Healthy Life to Keep you Motivated and On Top of Your Goal
Quotes to Embark on the Journey toward the Healthier and Happier You
First of all, it’s crucial to find the real reason behind the New Year’s resolution. Go vegan not because you might lose tons of weight but because it might make you healthier and it’s definitely better for the planet.
Embark on that new exercise regimen not because you want to look perfect on Instagram or TikTok but because exercise is a fundamental pillar of health that will benefit you for many years to come.
Start meditating not because it’s in and many movie stars do it, but because it can lead to happier outcomes for your mental health and your connections with others.
RELATED POST: 7 Pillars of Health
Keep the benefits of a healthier lifestyle as a beacon in your mind, and use these quotes to keep you inspired and motivated:
The groundwork for all happiness is good health.
Leigh Hunt

He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors.
Chinese Proverb

Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.
Plato
Quotes on Healthy Life to Motivate You
The most important but not the only step is, of course, to decide to improve your overall health. This is where it all starts. Realizing that the benefits of healthier living far outweigh the “pains” of giving up on one or two habits that are not serving you so well.
Whether it’s quitting smoking, tweaking your nutrition, adding more vegetables to your diet, starting an exercise regimen, or consulting with a doctor about ways to improve your sleep and/or stress management – all these will benefit you in the long run.
But you knew that of course. To help you get motivated to take the plunge, consider these motivational words:
Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.
JIm Rohn

Prevention is better than cure
Desiderius Erasmus

To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
Buddha
Quotes on Healthy Life to Make you Stick to the Plan
As we know, embarking on a switch to a healthier life is only half a battle won.
Every year, around New Year’s Day, millions buy a yearly gym membership but only 8% actually stick to their resolution to visit that gym.
How to stick to the plan? See the above suggestions of patience, accountability, and rewarding yourself when reaching a goal. Love yourself, be patient with yourself, trust yourself.
And here are a few words of motivation that might help:
Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.
Dr. Benjamin Spock

You yourself, as much as anyone in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
Buddha

It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.
Sir Edmund Hillary
Quotes to Keep you Going when the Going Gets Tough
Ok. Sometimes life happens. Bad days happen, obstacles mount, it might get really really tough to stick to a plan. I’m sure you’ve been there, I certainly have.
It’s at these times, that we need that “buddy” most desperately. Someone to help us realize that it is doable, that we can do it, that nothing is impossible and in fact, everything is possible.
Nothing is impossible. The word itself says I’m possible.
Audrey Hepburn

One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.
Arthur Ashe

Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.
Brené Brow
Quotes to Help You Get Back on the Wagon
What to do when you “fail”?
In the old, almost forgotten European days, I used to smoke and I tried to quit probably thirty times if not more. Each of these times went something like that: I quit for three days or maybe a week, then had to have just one because (fill in the blank of some calamity that made my 20-year -old self reach for that one cig), then reached for more and more and more. Within a day I was back to being a smoker again.
But I kept trying, and on the 31st attempt to quit, I did not have that second cig. Instead, I went back to trying to quit. And then again, and again. And, eventually, I did not need that special cigarette and slowly started thinking of myself as a non-smoker.
The crux of the story is: failure will happen. The key is not to give in to it.
Here are a few quotes to illustrate this.
There is no failure except in no longer trying.
Chris Bradford

Giving up is the only sure way to fail.
Gena Showalter

Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be
John Wooden
There it is. My five cents about forgetting New Year’s resolutions and setting up realistic goals.
And a little help from wise men and women about how to keep it up.
I hope you enjoyed these few quotes on healthy life. Here is to new goals and the happier, healthier you in 2022!
Thanks for this inspirational post. I love the quotes heading into the new year, they are definitely encouraging to stick to a healthier life for the new year. I like idea of rewarding yourself after accomplishments as well!
Definitely! It’s always easier to accomplish a goal when there is something to look forward to when it’s done.
Great quotes to commit for a better self this coming new year!
Thank you! Happy New Year!
Well, I never make new year resolutions because I don’t stick with them, but SALAD is my mantra, and I have started to repeat it out loud, so it must happen!
Best of luck with the mantra! You can do it!
You are right. New year’s resolution is useless if don’t know your WHYs and goals.
100% in agreement!