How Do I Make My Changes Stick?

My last few posts have focused on modifying behaviors and reigniting momentum all without getting hurt. But what about sustaining that change?

Rallying yourself to make changes is a necessary part of life.

I’ve had to find my way forward after a major car accident, after divorce, and during those quieter stagnant seasons when I catch myself re-watching Schitt’s Creek for the hundredth time, numbing out instead of moving ahead.

Most of us already know what we should be doing and why it matters. But somewhere between knowing and doing, something gets lost. Momentum fades, and we’re not always sure why.

So why does sustaining change feel so hard?

The missing step is twofold: clarity and embodiment.

Clarity: Know exactly where you are, where you want to go, and who you’re becoming along the way. Understand how your new actions fit into real life.

Embodiment: Live as the person you’re becoming. Until you do, change feels unnatural- like walking around in someone else’s shoes.

As James Clear writes in Atomic Habits, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Follow-through becomes natural when you live in alignment with who you believe yourself to be and have systems that support your success.
Without clarity and inner recalibration, you might make progress for a while but eventually drift back to where you started.

Let's review this in detail:

🌿 Step One: Get Honest About Where You Are

In Wellness 101, we call this charting your route.
A GPS can’t guide you until it knows your location, and your wellness journey needs that same honest starting point.

Many of us rush past the uncomfortable parts of noticing how we really feel. Exhaustion, skipped meals, restless sleep, and constant stress start to feel normal.

Pausing to see your life clearly is essential. Too often, we wait until life forces a pause — an illness, breakup, loss, or another major shift. Those moments can bring growth, but we can choose to take inventory before a crisis happens.

Start by tracking your data. When you record your movement, meals, sleep, or stress for even a few days, patterns appear. You start to see what supports you and what drains you.

That simple act of observation puts you back in the driver’s seat, armed with insight — and insight is always the first spark of change.

🌸 Step Two: Map Structure and Boundaries

Once you see your patterns clearly, it’s time to map out a plan.

Choosing to do more of what fills you and less of what drains you sounds simple, but it takes structure and boundaries to make it real.

Structure helps you automate what works by providing a gentle framework that makes healthy actions easier. When you build simple systems around habits that restore your energy, you create consistency.

Boundaries protect that energy.
Moms give so much to others that we often forget to save energy for ourselves. Boundaries make sure your time and focus match the life you want to create.

✨ Step Three: Embody the Person You Are Becoming

Once you’ve found your starting point and mapped your route, the final step is embodiment.

This is the part most people skip. We plan new habits but forget to become the person who lives them.

Embodiment means asking, “How would my ideal self move, rest, or respond today?”

Each action — going to the gym, drinking water before coffee, stepping outside for sunlight, or saying no to a draining commitment — becomes a declaration of identity.

You’re now a gym-goer. A hydrated queen. A mom with a healthy circadian rhythm. You get the idea.

Even if it feels early, lean into it.
“I am ____” becomes your new foundation.

🌼 The Truth About Sustainable Change

Sustainable change doesn’t come from pushing harder.
It comes from getting clearer.

When you understand where you are, define where you’re going, and live as the person who’s already on the path, wellness becomes natural instead of forced.

If this still feels unmanageable, we’ve got you. This process is the heart of Wellness 101.

I created this course to provide guidance and support for mamas ready to refocus. This is what works for me, in real life — and I know it can work for you too.

👉 Join the next round of Wellness 101 and start charting your own route to real, lasting change. Your best self is already inside you. She’s simply waiting for you to show up. 💜

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Use code WELLNESS10 at checkout.

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Whichever path you choose, I have full confidence in the person you’re becoming.

Sending supportive vibes,
Sam