If you take in nothing else today, the three building blocks to a being able to live a happy, fulfilling life are exercise, diet, and a balanced budget. All three things are lifelong undertakings that are highly intimidating if you're behind the curve (*cough* me).

There are things we tend to breeze over when we read them, especially when they're topics we really don't want to think about because they make us uncomfortable: Exercise reminds us of things we want to change about our body, whether it be losing weight or simply being able to run a mile without being completely winded. Making a budget reminds us that we may or may not have spent too much at the thrift store and we need to be more responsible with our funds. Eating better may bring about that feeling of guilt that our diet is way too bad, way too regularly. No matter what the improvement is, it can make us feel badly about our current habits simply because we know we can make those changes, but we choose not to. So, to make ourselves feel better, we make up excuse after excuse without really getting anywhere. Sometimes, it seems like we're getting worse.

Why is that?

It all comes down to the reward processes in our brains. Much like a drug, the more our reward pathways are stimulated, the more stimulation over time needs to happen for those happy feelings to be achieved. It's pretty simply psychology; so simple it seems too easy, but it really works. Facebook is a soothing blue, which serves as a good background for scrolling (and scrolling and scrolling) but what color are the notifications? Bright red. As soon as we see that little red icon, we feel that sense of reward for posting and having others react.

We then post more and more for more of those little red icons to pop up. We check our phones constantly for social media blips that tell us that people are reacting to what we create. Posting is easily accessible, easily made, and easily posted. Sticking to a proper regimen for diet, exercise and budgeting is not easy (initially), and at first, the rewards feel minimal, so it's easy to push them to the side in lieu of other things that give instant gratification.

Here's the secret to a successful start: Establish a reward pattern, and those three building blocks will be easier to move into place.

I am not advocating living the CrossFit life or religiously following a paleo-diet that makes you feel miserable. While they establish reward processes for some people, you need to make a routine that works specifically for you. Some people use cheat meals (not cheat weeks) to give themselves a small treat after a week of sticking to a better diet, others reward themselves by watching an episode (or five) of their favorite Netflix show after an hour of rigorous exercise, and some may reward themselves with a small item in their online shopping cart after working out their budget and finding they have some cash left to spend on themselves.

First and foremost, it's about you, for you, nobody else. You have control over these basic but crucial aspects of your life and have the opportunity to make the best of them. It seems easy to breeze over them and think that it's just too simple, but for those of us riding on excuses, it really is that easy. Improvement begins with you.