Building new habits that stick can be frustrating and sometimes seem impossible. However, getting habits to stick isn't actually as hard as you think: you just need to be smart about it.
Below, we’ll go through some pointers that will help you to build new habits that will stick with you for a lifetime. Take a look!
Pair A New Habit With A Habit That Is Already Ingrained
James Clear, a habit expert, says that you should stack your habits to get them to stick. If you drink a pint of water each morning, you can pair taking your vitamins with that. Those two habits go well together, and you can gradually stack them up until you have a fully fleshed out morning routine that kicks your day off to a healthy, productive start.
James talks more about this in his book ‘Automic Habits’.
Change Your Mindset
Changing your mindset takes time and consistent effort. It won’t change overnight, and even if you consciously learn a new belief, your old belief systems can still crop up and get in the way. This is why it’s so important to be introspective and figure out what your beliefs are and where they come from. Your beliefs can either propel you forward or limit you! You can’t help how you were programmed, but you can help your future self by undoing those programs. Here are a few ways you can change your mindset:
Use affirmations daily.
Focus on only what you want in your life. Emphasize this by visualizing and making a vision board. Spend time every day daydreaming about who you would like to be and what you will achieve.
How would this new version of you feel? Try to replicate this feeling every day, even without what you want.
Educate yourself with books, podcasts, and YouTube videos.
Stop Spending Time In Negative Environments
The environments we spend time in can have a huge impact on our habits. For example, many soldiers in Vietnam took opiates, but when they returned home many of them were able to stop cold turkey. This is largely down to where they were and who they were surrounded with.
Make sure you’re spending time in a positive environment and with people who support you.
Just Do A Little Bit Every Day
To build the habit of going to the gym, you don’t even need to work out every day. Just head to the gym, go in, and leave. Do this every day. Add in a few reps. Work out for 5 minutes for a week. Increase to 10. Just take your time. It might sound ridiculous, but if you can do just 2 minutes of the habit you want to build each day, you’ll have a much better chance of building a fully fleshed out habit. You could also try a cognitive behavioral therapy program to change the way you think and feel about certain habits.
Expect Mistakes And Mishaps
It’s not about perfection. If you expect perfection, you’ll set yourself up for failure. This is about consistency! When you acknowledge this, you’ll take the pressure off.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love reading and responding to comments but in order to get my reply you must ensure you are NOT a no-reply blogger. If you are, here are some quick steps to change that!
1. Go to the home page of your Blogger account.
2. Select the drop down beside your name on the top right corner and choose Blogger Profile.
3. Select Edit Profile at the top right.
4. Select the Show My Email Address box.
5. Hit Save Profile.