More resilience? Take micro-steps!

If you ask people how old they want to become, most of them would like to live past 100. At least, if that’s possible in good health. Many people want to grow old, but not be old. If you increase your resilience, you experience more quality of life. You benefit from this now, and certainly also later in life.

Quality of life is a subjective concept. After all, it’s about how someone experiences their functioning, both physically and mentally. The indicator often used in research is satisfaction with certain aspects of life. How is that for you? Are you satisfied with how your life looks? With your physical and mental health?

I am tired
How often do you hear people say it, at a party or at work: I’ve been so tired lately. I wish I had a bit more energy. If that applies to you as well, we have good news for you! There’s actually a lot you can do yourself to increase your mental and physical resilience. And no, a drastic turnaround is not what we want to advise you.

Flipping the switch
But what then? First of all, it’s important to become aware of the fact that you want to flip the switch. That you’re really fed up with always being tired, struggling with your health, or even worse, having complaints that don’t make your life any better. If you’re intrinsically motivated, the chance is much greater that you can start living the life you might still be dreaming of. Take a closer look at the following points: your nutrition, sleep habits, alcohol consumption, the role of humor in your life, your social contacts, and a very important one, meaning. Are there things among these that you could improve?

Big switch? Or maybe not…
Many people who want to improve their lives make drastic changes. From one day to the next, they eat only salad, start working out four times a week, and also quit smoking. They think a big switch is the only solution. Often, after a short period, they fall back into old habits, because hey, this is of course not sustainable. That’s why we recommend micro-steps; then the chance of success is much greater.

Small steps are better
For example, if you want to sleep better, set yourself the goal of sleeping five minutes longer each day this week. That’s achievable for everyone. If you build it up step by step, you’re much more likely to achieve the goal of sleeping one hour longer per night. Or if you eat a bag of chips every day, eat the whole bag again tomorrow, but put five chips aside in the cupboard and gradually reduce it that way.

If you start with micro-steps today, it can make a real difference in ten or twenty years. And even in the short term, you’ll gain much more resilience. Just imagine how great that would feel…

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