B ME Bites 2: Introducing the S.T.E.P.S Formula

Welcome to the second edition of B ME Bites! This week is about beginning to lay some solid foundations from which you can build, which is why this edition is dedicated to introducing The S.T.E.P.S Formula. Let’s dive in!

For this edition, you can choose your own adventure to proceed!:

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If you prefer to read, proceed from here! 👇

Featured Topic: The S.T.E.P.S Formula

Most people have heard of SMART Goals, and in case you haven’t, SMART stands for Specific, Measureable, Achieveable, Realistic, Time-Bound. I used to make SMART Goals, but I still struggled to make changes at times, no matter how hard I tried, and it was FRUSTRATING! I eventually realised that SMART Goals work best when you have the foundational habits you need already in place. But what happens when you don’t? It’s much harder to make changes. Luckily, I found a way to make it easier!

Introducing the S.T.E.P.S Formula! S.T.E.P.S stands for:

• Small

• Timely

• Easy

• Pleasurable

• Sustainable

Small

This is where a lot of people set themselves up for failure. Sometimes even when you think you’ve set yourself a small goal, it can still be too big. It’s not that you can’t have big goals – you absolutely can and it’s highly recommended. But a goal is the end result, and it will take a series of steps to get there.

Most people set a big goal and then work their way towards it, but if it’s too big and it seems like you’re not making the progress you want, what usually happens? You give up. Which is totally understandable. The issue is not the size of the goal, it’s the strategy used to achieve it. This is especially true if the habits needed to achieve the goal aren’t yet formed. We’ll be talking about the science behind habits in another edition, but for now, just know that it's important to break your big goal up into “mini bites”, and that it’s essential that you start small.

How small? There is NO start too small. It’s better to underpromise and overdeliver. You’ll give yourself a quick win, which will give you the motivation to keep moving forward.

Timely

Put a realistic timeframe around your goals and be open to the timeframe being flexible. You’re aiming to make progress and any progress is good progress.

Easy

Yes, I said easy. How often have you had a picture in your head of how something is “supposed” to be and aimed for that exact picture, no matter how hard it was? Did you always succeed or did you fail sometimes? Have you told yourself in the past that you just have to “try harder”?

Instead of telling yourself to “try harder”, could you ask yourself, “How can I make this easier?”

Just because you have a picture in your head of what something is supposed to look like, doesn’t mean it has to be that way, and when you open yourself up to there being a different way and ask yourself how you can make it easier, you’ll find what you’re looking for.

When you’re making a change in your life, the easier it is to do, the better. It’s not a cop out either…it’s SMART!

Pleasurable

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s important to emphasise that if the change you’re trying to make is NOT pleasurable, PLEASE choose something else. If you’re looking to make lifestyle changes to improve your health, you’re generally not looking to make those changes for a week or a month or a year. You’re planning on making those changes for the rest of your life, right? So, why would you choose to do something that you dislike for the rest of your life? That’s unhealthy and defeats the whole purpose of making the change in the first place.

There are a myriad of different ways to make those changes, so find a strategy that you truly enjoy. Again, that’s not a cop out…that’s SMART!

Sustainable

This is also important for the same reason discussed above. If you’re looking to make a lifestyle change, it’s not for a season, it’s for a lifetime, so it absolutely has to be something you can sustain.

Ask yourself the question, “Will I like doing this for the rest of my life?” If you get any negative feelings, look for something else to change. It doesn’t mean it will be off the table forever, it’s just not right for you right now.

Reader Spotlight

Shoutout to Debra who shared the following after reading “S.T.E.P.S Towards Organic Living: Non-Toxic Living on a Budget”:

You can find a link to this book here.

Weekly Challenge

The S.T.E.P.S Formula is a big part of the foundation of this newsletter. The intention is to give you small, “bite-sized” tips, tools and strategies in order that you can easily consume and then actually IMPLEMENT what you have learned each week, one S.T.E.P.S step at a time!

So how are you going to IMPLEMENT The S.T.E.P.S Formula this week? B ME Bites is deliberately sent on a Friday morning (Aussie time) so that where ever you are in the world, you have the weekend to give yourself the gift of implementing a small change towards a better you. What will that small change be? Is there a change that you have been trying to make and haven’t yet succeeded? Give it another go, applying S.T.E.P.S - you can do it!

Resource Roundup

A great tool to help you achieve your S.T.E.P.S goals is the S.T.E.P.S Goal Tracker. You can download it for free by clicking on the picture below:

Below is a resource list that has been created with you in mind. Whenever something new that could be helpful is discovered, it’s added to the list, so check it out from time to time. If you’re strapped for time, once you open the page below, scroll down to the Resource List section and click on the “Health Tools” link for a list of items that could be helpful on your path to a better you.

Thanks for reading and the hope is that you found something helpful inside this issue. If you did, remember to share it with others whom could also find it helpful. You can do so using your special link which you will find in this section of the edition in your inbox, and if you’re not, (if you’re not, why not? 😛 ) use this link: https://bmebites.beehiiv.com

If you have an inspiring story, or a helpful tip or strategy to share, please fill out the form below so that it can be shared with the community. Please note that this is a subscriber survey, so you may have to subscribe first (hint, hint…… 😉) : https://bmebites.beehiiv.com/forms/8d0dfdd1-4290-4e40-bff9-1f61b812c661

Until next week, keep taking one S.T.E.P.S step at a time!

Warm regards,

Shari Ware Chief Encouragement Officer at B ME Bites