Why I’m Able to Stay Strong and Lean Despite Getting Older

Staying strong and lean may not be your health goal per se, but I’m willing to bet you have a health goal that is similar.

Health goals aren’t necessary, but they sure are important.

The reason is this. As you get older, in general, health tends to decline, unless you purposely decide to do something to limit, prevent, or even reverse the rate of decline.

This usually means changing your habits to some degree.

Changing your habits requires setting some health goals to give you direction.

Once you have those goals in mind, you can work backward and see what you need to do to start, stop or change, to reach those goals.

This is exactly why I’m able to stay strong and lean despite getting older. I set a goal and think about the habits required to get me closer to that goal.

I’ve done this for years, even before becoming a Certified Habit Coach, and it works.

I’m going to share why I’m able to stay strong and lean despite getting older, and let you in on how you can find out how you can do the same with your health goals, no matter how grand they are.

I Set a Goal That is Meaningful to Me

It’s easy to set goals. It’s not always easy to reach them.

A reason for this is because the goal you set may not be meaningful enough to you.

For example, you may have a goal of eating less sugar.

You love sugar though. You set this goal because you keep hearing how bad sugar is for you, so figured you should probably eat less of it.

How likely is it that you’ll be able to follow through on eating less sugar if it’s something you love and you don’t even know what the benefits will be if you eat less of it?

Not very likely.

Now, if you set a goal of feeling more energized so that you can go on more adventures with your partner and be more productive at work, you have something to work with.

The outcome is meaningful to you. You can visualize the benefits. It’s something you strongly desire.

When you have a goal that is meaningful to YOU, you are more likely to be driven to reach that goal.

It makes it easier to break any bad habits limiting you from reaching that goal. It also makes it more likely you’ll start and continue new habits that will bring you closer to your goal.

The goal I set for myself was that I want to be able to run well into my 70s.

I’m not only going to be able to run when I’m in my 70s, but I’m also going to be able to run at a pace less than 9 minutes/mile.

That’s a pretty grand goal, I’ll admit.

It’s as good as done though.

That’s because it’s meaningful enough to me. (Plus, I started developing the habits required to get me there, such as healthier eating habits, consistent baseline exercise, and a few others.)

I Use Identity Habits to Reach My Health Goals

So now that you know that you should be setting a goal that is meaningful to you, let’s talk about the next steps.

As I mentioned earlier, habits are key to reaching any goal, no matter if it’s a health goal, a financial goal, a career goal, etc.

There is a certain type of habit that is really key to reaching those health goals, for various reasons.

The type of habit is an identity habit.

Identity habits are what I use to stay strong and lean (and quite easily too).

Once you understand what identity habits are, why you should use them, how they help you reach your health goals, and how exactly to use them, you’ll better be able to reach that health goal.

That very meaningful health goal, of course.