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Everyone knows how difficult it can be to stick with a behavior change over the long haul, whether it’s eating a healthier diet, exercising regularly, quitting smoking or any of the countless ways people work to improve their health and wellness.

It can feel easy in the early days, when your motivation is at its peak, but it’s essential that you have strategies to keep yourself on track when “life happens” and obstacles appear.

People often think that behavior change is simply a matter of willpower and therefore blame themselves when they overindulge in sweets or miss a few workouts. The truth is, relying on willpower is a frequent recipe for failure, as it’s a limited resource and is easily overwhelmed by stress, fatigue or even enjoyment of things we know aren’t necessarily “good for us.” So-called failures are actually short-term lapses and