Happy Independence Day!
Let’s talk about forming new habits. We all have times in
our lives where we intentionally want to change our behavior for the better and
create new habits for ourselves. This could be getting in the habit of eating
healthier and drinking more water. Or it could be moving more and taking the
dog for a daily walk. Or it could be work related, or spiritual, or… There are
so many areas in our lives that could be improved and made easier if we created
new habits.
Getting into the habit of doing something is often easier
said than done. We seem to acquire bad habits without any effort, but getting
into a “good” habit can be a little more challenging.
Let’s break it down into a three step process that makes it
easy to follow until we’ve internalized the new behavior and made it a true
habit – something we do automatically without having to think about, like
brushing our teeth.
Decide What You Want To Do
The first step is to decide what you want that new habit to
be. Be as specific as possible. Don’t just tell yourself you want to exercise
more. Instead say something like “I will go for a 30 minute walk every single
day”. Deciding what your new habit will
be and committing to when and how you’re going to do it, is half the battle.
Remind Yourself To Get It Done
The next few days should be smooth sailing. You’re motivated
and excited to get this done. Sticking to your new habit isn’t an issue. But a
few days in you’ll notice that it’s easy to slip back into old habits.
Maybe it’s raining and you don’t really want to go out and
walk. Or maybe your day just gets away from you. This is when it’s important to
have a daily reminder. Set an alert on your phone or add the new habit to your
daily to-do list for a while.
Make It Part Of Your Routine Until It Becomes A Habit
Which brings us to the last step. It takes some time before
a new behavior becomes a true habit. Until then, a routine will work to your
best advantage. Even before the new behavior becomes automatic, a routine will
help you get it done without having to spend a lot of willpower or relying on
daily reminders.
Make that daily walk part of your after dinner routine, or
change from grabbing a snack at the vending machine at work at 10:00 in the
morning to packing a healthy snack.
My problem is that I get "stuck" doing the same workouts over and over. I love to run so I do it a lot then I get busy and forget to try something new. My July Healthy Habit will be trying something new every day!
ReplyDeleteLove these. Have you read Gretchen Rubin's book, The Happiness Project? Or listened to her podcast?
ReplyDelete