Make a new habit stick

— July 5, 2016

Have you tried without success to make a new habit stick? Have you sworn that this time it will be different, only to find your latest effort to get up earlier each day not working within a week? Trying to get a new habit to stick is quite a process. Educating our brains to remember a new task takes time—up to a month or more! Check out these 7 great tips to help you get that new habit to run on autopilot.

Commit and be consistent
You need around 30 days to condition the brain, so it’s easier to commit to a daily habit. Once you start, be consistant. If you miss days, it will be harder to make the habit stick.

Build up gradually
Rome wasn’t built in a day, so don’t try to do it all at once. If you want to get up half an hour earlier each day, set the alarm clock earlier by ten-minute increments.

Get rid of the evidence
Want to quit chocolate? Get rid of it from your home. Why test your will power more than you need? The less you see the things you want to quit, the better your chances.

Look ahead
Read up on the benefits you will feel when your new habit kicks in. Enjoy the improvements as they happen. Picture yourself on the road to a destination, passing each mile marker along the way.

Do it for you
It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or wants. You will be more successful in making your new habit stick if you do it for the most important person of all—you! Those around you will benefit anyway, because you will be happier, more confident—more motivated.

Set a date
Don’t start your new habit right away. Set a date a week or so into the future and spend the time making sure everything is set up to help you succeed. Examine the possible stumbling blocks and prepare ways around them. Envision yourself performing the new habit. Think about it as often as you can in the run up to the start date. By doing so, you are already priming your brain.

Be accountable
Tell the world about your new habit. Blog it, Facebook it, Tweet it and shout it from the rooftops. Now everyone will keep asking how you’re doing…and that will make it tough for you to admit you gave up.

How do you make a new habit stick?

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/physactiv/index-eng.php
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy.html