Spring is a time for renewal, growth and change. The temperature starts to get warmer, the days brighter and longer, and the motivation for spending more time outside, especially for those of us who experience colder winters, becomes palpable. This is a vibrant, transformational time in nature, where the greys and browns of winter start to turn green and colourful as leaves start to grow back and flowers start to bloom.

Not only is Mother Nature in transformation, it is the best time to transform our lives and wellbeing as well. It is the perfect time to take a look at where we are and look to where we want to go. Both our lives and our bodies are often in need of a good spring cleaning. Perhaps it’s time to declutter your home and purge the things you no longer need. It’s also a common time for people to change careers, start new projects, and end or start new relationships and friendships. After the winter months filled with higher calorie “comfort food”, holiday parties and often the “winter blues”, there is also no better time to revisit your health and fitness goals. Summer is on the horizon and it’s time to ask yourself:

How do I feel? And how do I want to go into summer feeling?

There’s a good chance that most of us are ready to follow in nature’s footsteps and start making some transformational changes to get where we want to be…whether it be increasing energy or targeting that optimal summer body. Trying to change everything at once can often be overwhelming and lead to failure, however making a few small changes to our habits can create some momentum, increase confidence and achieve the transformations we’re looking for. According to multiple studies by neurobiologists, cognitive psychologists and researchers which are summarized as part of our Certified Flourishing Wellness Coach™ training, anywhere from 40 to 90% of human behaviour falls into the habits category. Keeping this in mind, here are four tips for kickstarting new sustainable habits that will help you achieve your spring transformations:

1. Set a Goal – Whether it be registering and training for a race, signing up to learn a new sport, or specific nutrition and fitness goals, setting measurable, actionable goals will help you to stop procrastinating and start creating movement towards what you’re hoping to achieve.
2. Break Your Goal into Smaller Steps to Create a Plan – Creating small bite-sized goals or steps are more likely to create sustainable habits and increased transformational success as it allows you to hit milestones, create momentum and celebrate small wins before moving on to the next steps.
3. Find an Accountability Buddy – Whether it be a friend or coach or one of the many wellness apps that exist these days, it’s important to have those check-ins to track your progress and sometimes give you a much-needed push or pat on the back along the way.
4. Track Your Progress, Adjust as Needed – If your goal is indeed actionable and measurable, it is essential to track your progress along the way. This will allow you to course correct and adjust your action plan as needed, once you’ve started making progress.

It’s commonly said that you will start to feel change in two weeks, start to see it in four weeks and in eight weeks new habits will become a part of you. So, as we start to welcome the longer brighter days, and feel the vibrant vibes of spring calling for renewal,

I encourage everyone to start their spring cleaning alongside Mother Nature. It’s time for out with the old, and in with the new healthy, sustainable habits that can lead to huge transformations in time for summer. 

About the Author

Allison is a former professional engineer and management consultant turned integrated wellness consultant and transformation coach. She has a Masters in Sustainability and spent over a decade solving complex business problems for high impact energy companies while mentoring young women in a male dominated industry, before transitioning to the wellness space. Through her own mental health journey including multiple concussions and burnout, she developed many holistic tools and a voice as a mental health advocate.

She has levelled up her mental wellness toolkit by becoming a Functional Nutrition Counsellor, Metabolic Balance Coach and Flourishing Leadership and Workplace Coach. Her new company, Evolving Equilibrium, set to launch early this year, will coach high achieving women heal their lives and reclaim their magic, through an evidence-based, mind-body-environmental approach to health and wellbeing.