Are you ready to change and get healthier, wealthier, or more love in your life? Chances are your life is the way it is because of your habits. Let’s talk about forming new habits. We all have times when we intentionally want to improve our behavior and create new habits.
This could be getting in the habit of eating healthier and drinking more water. It could be moving more and taking the dog for a daily walk. It could be work-related, spiritual, or… So many areas in our lives 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 effort, but getting into a “good” habit can be a little more challenging.
Let’s break it down into a three-step process that is easy to follow until we’ve internalized the new behavior and made it a true habit—something we do automatically without thinking about, like brushing our teeth.
Decide What New Habit You
The first step is to decide what your new habit should be. Be as specific as possible. Don’t just tell yourself you want to exercise more. Instead, say, “I will go for a 30-minute walk daily.” Deciding your habit and committing to when and how you will 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 slipping back into old habits is easy.
Maybe it’s raining, and you don’t want to go out and walk. Or maybe your day gets away from you. This is when it’s essential to have a daily reminder. Set an alert on your phone or add the new habit to your daily to-do list.
Make The New Habit Part Of Your Routine
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 spending 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.
Congratulations! Decide to create the new habit and practice the routine until it’s second nature. You’ll be well on your way to forming a new good habit.
Next Steps
- Read the book by James Clear, “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way To Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.”
- Here is a blog post you may find helpful
Nancy Dadami is an Inner Peace Strategist, Medicine Painting Mentor, and Feng Shui Specialist. She helps empower leaders, visionaries, creators, and entrepreneurs called to growth, learning, service, and freedom so they can thrive by living the best version of themselves, creating a life of abundance, self-awareness, purpose, and inner peace. Linktr.ee/nancydadami
