Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Some of us likely chose to eat healthier, start a new workout routine, or even lose weight as our new year’s resolutions. These are all things that most people expect, or at least hope for, immediate results, or quicker ways to reach those goals.

Training your mind to believe and understand the importance of your goal, and to keep a routine with the steps you’re taking to achieve those goals is the top choice for building and maintaining healthy habits.

Cheri Harrison, Mental Health Specialist from Memorial Wellness, spoke on the WTAX Morning Newswatch about some of the challenges you may face on your journey to your goals, and shared some ways to make that journey easier and less stressful.

It all starts with training your brain for success. Once we have started a routine, and keep up with it, those routines and habits become like second nature and might not even require you to feel motivated to do them.

Harrison said “It’s like brushing your teeth in the morning or before bed. You may not have the motivation to get up and do it, but you still do it. You do it because the end goal is good dental hygiene, so even if you don’t want to you still get up and brush your teeth, so you can keep that goal in sight.”

Harrison also pointed out that it’s better to go about this with the mindset of “progress and not perfection”

“Focusing on small steps to build healthy habits, focusing on ‘this doesn’t have to be perfect’, small improvements still count. Consistency over time is your biggest win,” said Harrison

The end result is what we are working towards, small steps still count towards that bigger picture. Becoming frustrated is easy to do, but once we’ve built those habits, it’s easier to control the frustration and even easier to keep up with your goals. Each and every time you take a small step, and keep those small steps consistent, you get closer and closer to building a routine. Before you know it, those small steps almost seem to take care of themselves, as you now have built that routine and these steps are like second nature.