When it comes to changing lifestyle habits, it often takes several rounds of trial and error to settle into a routine that lasts. This holds true across many areas: exercise, nutrition, focused work, or making time to rest and unwind.

Meaningful change tends to take root in modest, repeatable habits. When sustained over time, these small shifts can alter not just what we do, but how we feel as we move through our days.

Your motivation and enthusiasm for January’s goals and improvements may be starting to wane. Life, with its daily demands and challenges, can interfere with your best intentions, and you may find yourself lapsing into old habits and behaviour patterns that do not serve you. Incremental rather than drastic change, day by day, is what moves the needle towards positive outcomes.

The start of a new year for many of us feels like a clean slate, and a fresh start. ‘This year will be different!’ we proclaim, with optimism and a strong sense of resolve, and a feeling of possibility. But how do we ensure that the dreams that we have at the start of the year turn into our new reality?

Beginning with intention and ending with purpose, in our days, our months and even our years, feels like a powerful mindset to embrace.

As we enter the last month of the year, we tend to “hang on” for the holidays, as the general feelings of mental and physical fatigue set in. We may start to think about how next year things may be different or better, and how we might make some better choices in terms of our health, our lifestyle and our habits. There is, however, also the option to begin with simple improvements now, and already be reaping some of the positive benefits when the old year clicks over into the new.

Many of us have goals for growth and improvement, be it in our careers, our health or our personal lives. To bridge the gap between the dreams that we have and the results that we desire, we need to make the decision to adopt a practice or a series of steps that we can repeat, in order to cover the ground to our goal.

Do you tap into the energy of the season? Every year is divided neatly into four seasons, each with its own unique purpose and energy. Nature runs to a rhythm that is time-tested, and true. These seasonal cycles affect us profoundly, and have significant impact on our mood, our energy, and our sense of resolve. We would do better to embrace the very best of each season, once it arrives, as an alternative to bemoaning the bits that don’t suit us.

Many of us start our days off strong – well-intentioned and motivated, healthy and focused. Too many of us finish our days off weakly and unhealthily, with a lack of intention and discipline, and feeling overwhelmed and unnecessarily tired. Finishing the day in a slump often starts the next day in a similar way.

Everybody hurts, sometimes. This common experience is part of what connects us all. There will be times in our lives when we experience indescribable pain, and unhappiness.

There are no quick fixes for healing sadness. Sometimes it can help to recognize the things that will make a difference, and help you to slowly cover ground as you heal.

We are becoming increasingly out of practice at focusing on one important task at a time. We allow ourselves to be distracted by our notifications, our messages, our emails, news, and social media. We flit between them, often whilst still trying to accomplish something important. We end up taking longer to get meaningful tasks done, and the result is often not our best effort.

One of the most important things we can do to care for our close relationships is to choose our words wisely. Our choice to use the words ‘always’ and ‘never’ without careful thought can be upsetting to the recipient and damaging to a relationship. They can be interpreted as a hurtful judgement of someone’s character; and there is almost always a better way to frame what you would like to say.

Choosing to keep things simple can be a strategy for effective solutions, but also for satisfaction. We tend to think that the more complex a strategy, the more sophisticated and impressive it must be; but it is often the complexity that gets in the way of progress, and implementation.

A spare moment arrives in a day, and we reach for our phone. We need to begin a big task and before we finally get going, we reach for our phone. We stand in a queue, or find ourselves in any waiting situation, and we reach for our phone. If you are happy with the role that your phone is playing in your life and your dependency, or lack of, on its various benefits or distractions, then continue as you always have. If you are not, then choose to make some changes.

Oh, the relentless quest for balance! Life can feel like a juggling act for sure, with multiple priorities, and the need to give everything its correct and proper focus.  It helps to remember that our priorities do not always all need to receive equal attention.

It can be immensely empowering to design a positive morning routine, and tailor-make it to suit your lifestyle. You may think that you are too busy or too rushed in the mornings to introduce a routine into your life, but the truth is, you already have one. The question is, is it a positive or negative series of actions; and is it serving you, and beginning your day in the right way?

When it comes to changing lifestyle habits, I am struck by how many rounds of trial and error it can take to incorporate a positive new routine into our lives. This holds true for an exercise routine, a healthier way of eating, a more conscious use of social media, productive work habits, or the adoption of a relaxation practice.

The present is all that tangibly exists. The past, though it happened and impacted us, is gone forever. We can look back on it, but we cannot change it. The future is something to look towards, and certainly to plan for, but it has not arrived yet. This moment is what we have, and when that has passed, we have the next moment, and the next.

The poet William Meredith observed that the worst that can be said of a man is that “he did not pay attention.”

Choose to Pay Attention. Do not mindlessly miss out.

Invest in your advancement, if for nothing else than to celebrate the capability of your brain. Learn for the love it, and celebrate the satisfaction and stimulation that follows. It can be for your career (your existing one, or your next one) or for your self-interest; to help others or to help yourself. Don’t wait until there is time – create the time as a gift to yourself.

The simple act of giving has a surprising ripple effect. Something as small as a smile and eye contact with someone, as you pass them, can lift them up just when they may need it. It’s easy to become inward-focused, and concerned only with happenings in our own world; but we are living alongside others who may be experiencing severe struggles. Our place is not necessarily to save them, but by simply seeing and acknowledging them we can help them to shift their perspective, even slightly. Sometimes, to be seen, is to be saved.

Many of us have an inclination, over time,  to let our lives become fairly serious. Having ground to cover means being focused, disciplined, and diligent, but the tone that we set does not need to be sombre. Quite the opposite, in fact! If life is meant to be a journey, why not choose, where possible, to cover ground with a spring in your step, and a smile on your face?