We’re well into the new year and truth be told, you may not have formed that new habit you said you would when making your new year’s resolutions… Don’t worry. Below is a list of 8 steps you can take to for a new (healthy) habit.
- Work on one habit at a time – sometimes we’re ambitious and want to form several new habits all at once. That may not be the best course of action for long term success. I think we should focus on one new habit at a time, perhaps two, but definitely not 3 – unless each new habit is contextually relevant to each other.
- Commit for at least a month – research says that depending on what the new habit is, it will take between 20-90 days before the new habit is completely built into your lifestyle. Just because you read somewhere that it should take 20 days to form a new habit, don’t expect that’s true. You’re a unique individual and your body and mind may respond differently to new behavior than the next person. Ex. i used to drink diet soda on a daily basis. It was a really bad habit of mine. I was in the best shape of my life but had this very bad habit. I watched a show called Sweet Misery… I stopped drinking soda then and there. It’s been 5 years! #coldturkey
- Develop your new habit alongside an existing one – as mentioned in the very first point, when goals and habits are contextually relevant, it may be easier to stick to them.
- Take baby steps and start slow – the first step to accomplishing anything is to start. It doesn’t matter how fast you go or how big of steps you take. Just do it (like Nike?). Small steps will eventually get you to your end goal, just make sure you continue making progress.
- Be prepared for obstacles and temptations – nothing worthwhile is ever easy… or maybe it is for some. Regardless, for the vast majority of people who want to make positive changes or accomplish ambitious goals etc, there will be some obstacles or challenges along the way. Whatever you do, DO NOT GIVE IN! You’ll be very proud of yourself.
- Share your success with people – Accountability can be the one thing that keeps you on track. Some people may benefit from sharing their lives and accomplishments with people (other are more private which i fully respect!). If you are one of those people who want to share your progress, do it! Habits are difficult to form so if you think sharing your progress with other people will make you stick to the process, crank out the camera and start sharing to social media! =)
- Reward yourself when you reach a milestone – always reward yourself! BUT… don’t reward yourself with something you’re trying to build a habit of staying away from… Ex. if you’re looking to cut back on sugar, stop the bad habit of eating a sugary cake after dinner… don’t reward yourself with a bag of Swedish fish (i’m addicted to the large fish i’m linking to and need to go on a serious cleanse lol!!!)
- Adopt the new habits as part of your lifestyle – this goes back to point #1 and #3. When goals and habits are contextually relevant to each other…and even to your current lifestyle, it’s easier for you to stick to it.
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