I interviewed a group of midlife advertising professionals about their health and their answers surprised me.

When I asked midlife professionals about their health, I was sure they would say health Is about losing weight or low energy in the afternoon.

While “eating healthier” was their first answer, the underlying need was their mental health.

Those I interviewed defined mental health as:

• working less

• having less stress at work

• having a job they enjoy

• having time to take care themselves

• flexibility in their work schedules (work/life balance)

• finding the motivation to work out and yes eating healthier.

They said having all of this would help them achieve better mental health and reduce their stress.

My research also shows that professionals know that working out is good for them and helps them deal with stress better. In fact they all said that “taking care of their health has to be a priority at this stage of their life”. They all said they were unmotivated to work out and found it hard to find time to take care of themselves.

As far as I’m concerned, all of this is tied together.

When you do work that gives you purpose you feel more positive about the rest of your life. Moving your body helps release endorphins that help reduce stress. Eating healthy food puts less stress on your system. Eating good food improves your energy which allows you to be able to do the things you love outside of work.

I always say that you can eat all the broccoli in the world but if you hate your job and you get really annoyed by the people you work with, what you eat isn’t going to help improve your well-being or reduce your stress levels.

And vice versa, you might really enjoy your job but if you are eating potato chips and fried chicken every day your health is going to suffer and that is going to affect your energy and your ability to do a good job.

All of this might sound obvious but I think we often complicate things.

We say things like “I don’t have the time to go to the gym” when we scrolled on social media for two hours and could have pulled our yoga mat out for 20 minutes. We tell ourselves that doing a good job means answering emails at 10:00 at night. We think that taking care of our health means we have to be a Michelin rated chef.

We stress out about the little things.

I know how making small changes to one’s diet and lifestyle has a big effect on a person’s well-being.

To be successful you need a plan. Improving your health doesn’t happen overnight.

In fact the biggest mistake I see people make is making too many changes at once. It’s overwhelming and causes stress.

Does that sound familiar?

Did you try the latest trendy diet and two weeks later find yourself at your friend’s birthday party with a glass of wine in hand and a big piece of birthday cake? I know how that goes.

You tried completely overhauling your entire diet and it didn’t work.

There were so many rules to follow that you got overwhelmed.

Then you beat yourself up for not sticking to the program.

Then you decided screw it, it’s not working anyway and I’m going to eat whatever I want. T

Then you felt life a failure.

None of that sounds like a plan for success.

It’s why most people fail when trying to get healthy. Trust me if you try to go from eating fast food and Snickers bars to salads and vegetable stir fries overnight you are probably going to fail. You are going to get overwhelmed, and it’s going to seem impossible to reach your goal and that is going to discourage you and make you think your can’t get there.

Here are 4 tips to help you reach your health goals:

Clearly define your goals.

Saying you want to be healthier isn’t a goal. Saying you are going do Meatless Mondays to lower your cholesterol to a healthy level is a fantastic goal. Saying you are going to get off one subway earlier so you get more exercise is a totally achievable goal. Dropping off a committee at work so you can have more time to do your job and finish work earlier is a great idea.

Schedule reminders to take breaks.

You are busy, it’s part of the reason you are having trouble finding time to take care of yourself. Do yourself a favor and set a reminder on your phone to remind yourself to take a break. Block the time off your calendar. Plan what you are going to do during that break. Are you going to take 5 minutes to breathe? Are you going to grab your book and read a chapter? Are you going to get up from your desk and go the roof of your building? Any by the way scrolling through social media is NOT a break.

Take steps to work less hours.

Does that mean starting work an hour later one or two days a week? Does it mean blocking off 11- 12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Choose one and then get the support you need. Let your manager know. Tell your team and your clients that you are changing your work hours so they can support you in making the change. Post your new work house at the bottom of your email, create an auto response to let folks know your new schedule.

Block time off your calendar to move your body.

Moving your body doesn’t have to involve a visit to the gym. Moving your body can be a 5 minute dance party in between meetings. It can be closing your office door and stretching. It can be rolling out your yoga mat and doing a vinyasa. You get to decide. Set your reminder, block the time off on your calendar. Put stickies where you can see them to remind you to move your body. Have the music ready so it’s quick and easy to turn it on. Put the yoga mat under your desk.

If your goal is to improve your health but you don’t have a plan to get there, then you won’t succeed. You need an expert to help you create a plan.

If you are trying to find the motivation to get started, then you need help. I invite you to schedule a 55 minute session with me so we can talk about your health goals and get you the Spark you need to get your journey started.