As fall activities begin and schedules fill up again, you may be thinking about intentions you set for your health, energy, and well-being.
But for senior leaders and business owners, the challenge usually isn’t knowing what to do. It’s sustaining the motivation to do it when work is demanding and time feels scarce.
How do you protect the health, energy, and stamina you need to lead well—and still have something left to enjoy life beyond work?
And perhaps most importantly, how do you make room for moments of enjoyment now, rather than waiting for life to become less demanding?
In my book, Happy Life at a Healthy Weight, motivation is a key topic.
There’s a reason for that.
Over the years, I’ve heard many people say some version of, “I just need to get motivated.”
Some are looking for the burst of enthusiasm that comes with starting something new. Others decide it’s time for a complete overhaul of their routines.
For a few weeks, that may work.
Then the demands of everyday life return. The initial excitement fades. The new routine becomes difficult to maintain, progress slows, and eventually they lose sight of why they started in the first place.
One reason is that we sometimes expect motivation to be something we acquire once and then keep. But motivation is more like taking a shower. We don’t shower once and expect it to last for a month.
Motivation needs to be renewed.
Fuel Your Motivation by Making Changes From the Inside Out
In Atomic Habits, James Clear describes three layers of behavior change:
Outcomes → Processes → Identity
We often begin with the outcome:
I want to lose weight.
I want more energy.
I want to exercise regularly.
I want to sleep better.
Clear suggests turning this process around and beginning with identity—with the person you want to become. For a senior leader, that raises a different set of questions:
Who do I want to be as I move into the next stage of my life?
What do I want my health to make possible?
What kind of life do I want to have the energy and stamina to enjoy?
Those questions can uncover beliefs that either support change or quietly work against it.
Robert, a self-employed entrepreneur, had recently been diagnosed with diabetes and wanted to lose weight. Yet he wasn’t acting on that desire because he believed losing weight meant going hungry.
“I don’t want to starve myself,” he told me.
His desired outcome and his underlying belief were working against each other. Recognizing that conflict was an important first step toward finding an approach he could actually sustain.
Jeanette’s Vision for the Future
Jeanette’s story shows what can happen when change begins with a larger sense of who you want to become.
When Jeanette, a self-employed educator, first called me, she said:
“I want to become an example of healthy aging for my daughters.”
She was approaching sixty, and that declaration meant something very specific to her. She wanted to remain active and healthy as she aged.
Rather than simply pursuing a number on a scale or checking off a list of health behaviors, she had a picture of the woman she wanted to become.
That vision helped motivate her to eat differently and become more physically active. Six years later, those routines were still part of her life.
There is an important distinction here.
Sustainable motivation isn’t necessarily about pushing yourself harder. It can come from connecting small actions today with the life you want to be able to live tomorrow.
Start With Five Minutes
You don’t need to overhaul your life this fall.
Start with one tiny change.
James Clear describes the cumulative power of becoming 1% better. I often think about this in terms of 5-minute reset moments. These are small actions that interrupt the momentum of a demanding day and help restore awareness, energy, or enjoyment.
Your reset doesn’t have to feel like another task.
In fact, it may work better if it’s something you look forward to.
Imagine taking your morning coffee outside for five minutes before the day gets underway. It’s quiet except for the birds. You notice the clouds passing by. You slow down enough to actually taste your coffee rather than drinking it while answering email.
Nothing dramatic has happened.
But for five minutes, you are fully present in your own life.
And that matters.
A Simple Life Hack
- Choose one 1% change or 5-minute reset you can realistically repeat during a demanding week.
- Make it enjoyable enough that you want to do it again.
- Notice the spillover. Does it change your energy, focus, patience, or how you experience the rest of your day?
The goal isn’t perfection.
It’s to create something small enough to survive the realities of your life and is meaningful enough to remind you why your health and well-being matter in the first place.
For more about creating sustainable change without adding more things you have to live up to, read my previous article, Building Capacity Now for the Changes Fall Brings.
Continue the Conversation
If you’re a senior leader or business owner whose health and well-being have gradually taken a back seat to the demands of work and life, you don’t necessarily need another complicated wellness plan.
Sustainable leadership means protecting your health and quality of life while continuing to meet the demands of leadership.
I’m currently accepting a limited number of private clients who want to:
- Restore sustainable energy and resilience.
- Build health practices that hold up during demanding weeks, not just the easy ones.
- Reduce stress without adding more to an already full schedule.
- Protect their health while continuing to lead at a high level.
- Have the stamina to enjoy the life they’ve worked so hard to build.
If this resonates with you, I invite you to schedule a confidential consultation.
Reference
Loughrey, K. (2024). Happy Life at a Healthy Weight.
With appreciation,
Kay Loughrey, MPH, MSM, RD
Lifestyle Curator | Advisor for Sustainable Leadership and Health
Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist
Sustainable Leadership. Enduring Health. A Life You Have the Stamina to Enjoy.
Sweet Life Wellness was founded by Kay Loughrey.
Kay works privately with leaders to restore energy, resilience, and alignment across leadership, health, and life.
Begin a private conversation
Request a Conversation by email to: Kay@sweetlifewellness.com
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