Making It Happen: Building Momentum for Lasting Wellness Change

Welcome to the second installment in OEWW’s four-part series aimed at equipping you with practical strategies to enhance your wellbeing throughout the academic term. The series opener, “Recharging Your Energy: Strategies for Sustained Wellbeing,” set the stage for prioritizing energy management as a cornerstone of personal and professional success. Now, let’s continue to fine-tune and refresh your wellness practices.

 Looking Back to Move Forward

Building on last year’s foundational strategies to “Make It Happen,” let’s expand our repertoire of wellness strategies and explore new ways to keep your wellness goals alive and thriving.

Elevate Your 2025 Plan: Ten of OEWW’s Favorite Tips and Strategies for Long-Term Wellness Success

1. Refresh Your Commitment. Reflect on your initial goals: Are they still aligned with your priorities? If not, adjust them to match where you are now. Consider seasonal or situational tweaks to keep your goals relevant and meaningful.
2. Build Flexibility into Your Habits. Life happens! Cultivate adaptable habits that fit into your schedule. For example: if your usual morning walk is interrupted, try a lunchtime stretch or an evening stroll. Wellness is not a one-size-fits-all journey. Allow room for adjustment when life gets busy or your needs evolve. A 20-minute walk instead of a 40-minute workout still counts as progress!
3. Find Meaningful Motivation. Reconnect with the deeper purpose behind your goals. Ask yourself: How does this habit improve my well-being or align with my values? A clear “why” fuels lasting motivation. Connect your habits to your values or bigger goals. For instance, think of exercise as a way to boost energy for family time or improve focus at work. When habits feel meaningful, they’re easier to maintain.
4. Anchor Habits to Milestones. Extend the idea of habit stacking by attaching wellness habits to daily or weekly milestones. After your morning coffee, meditate for five minutes or before your commute, plan your meals for the day.
5. Refresh Your Routine. Keep things interesting by trying new variations of your habits. Swap your go-to workout with a new class, update your habit tracker with colorful visuals, or experiment with different forms of self-care.
6. Incorporate Micro-Moments of Wellness. Wellness doesn’t always require big blocks of time. Add 1- or 2-minute mindful pauses, stretches or gratitude reflections throughout your day. If a habit feels overwhelming, break it down into even smaller actions. For example, instead of committing to “exercise daily,” start with 10 push-ups or a single yoga pose each morning.
7. Use Technology Wisely. Leverage apps, timers or smartwatches to provide tailored reminders and track your activity. Use technology as a support tool, not a distraction.
8. Create a Supportive Environment. Surround yourself with cues and resources that make healthy choices easier. Keep healthy snacks visible, declutter your spaces, place a yoga mat near your workspace or pin inspirational quotes where you’ll see them daily. 
9. Celebrate Consistency, Not Perfection. Acknowledge and reward yourself for showing up. Even a less-than-perfect effort counts as progress. Practice self-compassion. Acknowledge that slips are part of the journey. Instead of self-criticism, focus on what you’ve learned and how you can adjust. A growth mindset keeps you moving forward.
10. Visualize Success. Imagine yourself successfully integrating your habit into daily life. Visualization is a powerful tool for creating mental roadmaps to success.

Is there one or more of the strategies that can help you take your wellness to the next level? Consider trying one. Let’s deepen our practice together and make 2025 a year of meaningful growth and sustainable well-being.

Looking Forward
As we revisit and enhance these concepts, we’ll provide new perspectives and tools to help you take your wellness journey to the next level. Stay tuned for the next article on January 21, where we’ll dive into time management strategies specifically tailored for higher education professionals.

Submitted by:
Dahlia Henry-Tett, Chief Wellness Officer, employeewellbeing@nvcc.edu