New year, possible habits

Major transformations carried out overnight are rarely sustainable. Our bodies and minds like patterns, routine and predictability. Radical changes activate a real internal defense system, which fights to bring us back to old behaviors.

So if there’s a right way to start 2026 healthier, it involves simple, possible, incremental adjustments. Less promises and more practice. Less radicalism and more consistency. Health is not built on a single perfect day, but on what we do most of the time throughout our lives.

Replace the elevator with a few flights of stairs. Walk ten or fifteen minutes after dinner. Place another portion of vegetables on the plate. Sleep thirty minutes earlier. Drink an extra glass of water throughout the day. These are seemingly minor attitudes, but when repeated frequently, they create a new pattern. And the model, this one, is powerful.

Another common mistake is thinking that we need to change everything at once. This leads to rapid frustration and early abandonment. The ideal is to choose one or two habits at a time, consolidate them and only then move forward. The brain learns by repetition and not by imposition. When the new behavior becomes automatic, it stops requiring effort and becomes part of one’s identity.

It is also important to remember that health is not just the absence of disease. It is disposition, mobility, mental clarity, emotional balance and autonomy over the years. We have never had more access to information, science and tools that help us live longer and better. But this also implies greater responsibility: we can no longer completely outsource our health.

We have definitely entered the era of proactive health. One in which we understand that our daily choices – what we eat, how much we move, how we sleep and how we manage stress – will have a direct impact on our future health. It’s not about perfection, it’s about the direction we choose.

To turn this talk into concrete action, I propose a simple challenge for 2026: choose small changes and commit to implementing them during the first three months of the year. No crazy projects or unattainable goals. The proposal is simple and realistic: define possible habits and try to integrate them into daily life for at least 70 days.

This period is sufficient to reduce initial resistance, create familiarity and allow the body and mind to begin to accept the new pattern as something natural. It’s not about being impeccable, the emphasis is on consistency. Some days will be better, some days less, and that’s okay. The important thing is not to give up at the first misstep.

This is why I bring here an invitation to look less at the calendar and more at daily behavior, understanding that consistency is worth much more than sporadic intensity. If 70 days seems like a long time, remember that they pass anyway: the difference is deciding whether, at the end, we will be in exactly the same place or healthier, stronger and more conscious of our choices.