Creating healthy habits
The THRIVE guide to laying the foundations for a healthier you.
‘Getting one percent better every day counts for a lot in the long run.’
James Clear
Habit creation 101
You’re primed for change after your Health Check, but there may be a gap between intention and action. The trick is turning behaviours into automatic habits. It takes consistency, structure and compassion.
New brain (neural) pathways take weeks or months to solidify — so be patient and kind to yourself.
Step 1 Find your ‘Why’
Change that lasts comes from a reason that resonates deeply — not just “because I should.”
Reflect: How will this change improve your life in a way that feels real to you?
Link that meaningful reason to your goal so it becomes your compass during tough days.
For example losing weight or cutting back on alcohol because you’ve been told that that’s what you need to do to be healthier makes sense, but this isn’t powerful, meaningful or personal enough. Some more inspiring alternatives may be:
“I want to have the energy to play footy with my son”
“I want to be able to wear that outfit that I bought for my birthday in 2 months and feel amazing”
“I want to be able to celebrate the start of 2024 on a beach in Fiji with my partner, a trip I funded by saving the money that I would have spent on cigarettes”
“I want to bounce out of bed in the morning to spend quality time walking with my partner and dog, before work”
Step 2 Design your change environment
Habits don’t happen by wishful thinking—they need scaffolding.
Define Who / When / Where: e.g. “I’ll walk at 6 am with Jess in the park”, not “I’ll walk more.”
Identify barriers and triggers, then build guardrails (reminder apps, walk meetings, visual cues).
Surround yourself with support (accountability buddies, habit groups).
For example if you plan to spend less time sitting at your desk during the day, what systems can you put in place to remind you to move (e.g. download a ‘stand up’ reminder app), if you have a really busy day will this still work or do you need to find an impossible to ignore system like setting up your meetings as walking meetings?
Step 3 Set SMART bite-sized goals
Ambition is good — but when your first step is too big, it becomes a hurdle.
Specific: precise behaviour
Measurable: trackable
Attainable: challenging but doable
Relevant: tied to your “Why”
Time-bound: Suggest a 1–4 week horizon
Break larger goals into micro‑goals so you can celebrate wins along the way.
Step 4 Build patterns
Routine beats willpower
The more repetition, the stronger the habit.
Use cues (time of day, location, prior action) to trigger behaviour
Link new habits to existing ones (habit stacking)
Schedule the behaviour in your diary so it becomes non‑negotiable
Keep a log or tracker to inspect progress
Step 5 Reflect, Reset and Be Kind
Sometimes we miss days. That’s okay.
If you’re struggling to stay on track there’s likely to be a very good reason for this, we encourage you to:
Pause to ask: What blocked me? What could I do differently next time?
Use those lessons to reset your plan — not to beat yourself up
Celebrate progress, however small.
Focus on nurturing a growth mindset rather than trying to achieve perfection.
We encourage you to let us know what goals you’ve set and update changes you’ve made through your Pulse Check. Your numbers can easily be updated on your dashboard then any changes will recalculate your scores.
We didn’t make these tips up. These steps are drawn from the ideas of many amazing humans who have focussed their careers on the science of behaviour change. If you’re interested in learning more about the science behind establishing habits and want to read or listen to some good resources, here are two fantastic, scientifically strong reads:
James Clear's‘ Atomic Habits’ and
Charles Duhigg’s ‘The power of habit’