If you are like most people, there is probably some room for improvement as far as taking care of yourself is concerned. Busy schedules, bad habits, and good old self-sabotage make for formidable obstacles. But where there is a will there is a way, and if you have the desire to do better, you’re already on your way. Here are a few tips to get the ball rolling towards better health:

1. It’s Goes Deeper than Just Being Healthy

No matter what it is we want, we want it because we think somehow having it will make us feel better in some way, it will give us feelings we find desirable. For a variety of reasons, you think being healthier will provide you some benefit. This sounds obvious in that we know it is important to take care of our bodies, but it is always something more.

Why do you want to start taking better care of yourself? What do you hope to gain from having a healthier body and a healthier lifestyle? Define that deeper motivation and you’ll find it much easier to reach your goals.

2. Experiment

There are lots of different diets, types of exercises and what not, that can help you improve your lifestyle and achieve better health. While you don’t want to jump from diet to diet for example, without giving a way of eating a fair shake to see how it works for you, it is also good to keep in mind there is just not one path to health, there is just not one way of eating. Different things work for different people. This is particularly true of exercise, where we can easily lose motivation if we are bored.

So try different things to keep it interesting and find what works best for you. And this experimentation doesn’t have to be expensive. Many fitness centers offer free trial classes or reduced rates. For example, Northwest Fighting Arts, who provides martial arts classes in Portland, Oregon, offers 30 days of free training on most of their programs. Not bad.

3. Stretch Yourself But Not Too Far

Progress is a great motivator which is why it is important to set goals that are a bit of a stretch—when we achieve them we feel really good about ourselves and it motivates us to keep going, and to stretch a bit more. It is the rare person who responds well to setting extreme goals right out the gate. Most of us will falter eventually because it’s just too large a leap and the old way of being is still too strong.

So, while you do want to set a goal that may feel a bit uncomfortable don’t feel pressure to adopt a whole new lifestyle by the weekend. You may feel motivated for a bit, and actually adhere to your goals. But chances are, as time goes on, it will just seem like too much. And rather than adjusting, you will likely get really discouraged, beat yourself up and slide right back into your old habits.