Change and Habit, the Challenge of our Time

Change and Habits are known to be constant in life but changing a habit comes with its own challenges. They say it takes 21 days to create a new habit. That’s kind of a weird idea though, isn’t it?

It doesn’t take that long to form a bad habit. And sometimes no matter how hard you try, it takes a lot longer to form a healthy new habit.

Have you been trying to change a habit, or adopt a healthy new one? Read on, as you will discover how easily You can master this change.

So, how long does Change really take?

These 2 factors determine how long it will take You to make a change:-

1. Your mindset and
2. On how big of a change it is from what you are doing right now.

An example – If it is your habit to eat a bowl of ice cream at night, switching from regular ice cream to a low sugar frozen yogurt will probably not going to take you very long to make that new habit.

Giving up ice cream altogether though or cutting out all sugar on the other hand might take a lot much longer.

When we ask that question, what we really want to know is how long do we have to tough it out before it gets easier?

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel where we don’t have to try so hard anymore? In other words, when will this new behavior become automatic?

Does one size fit all?

Effecting a Change is different from one person to another and even from one habit to the next but there are a few things to keep in mind while trying to make any change:-

1. It’s easier to form a new habit than get rid of an old one.
2. Be prepared to work a lot harder to achieve the change example, give up checking your email every 2 minutes or snacking late at night.
3. Whenever possible, try to replace an old habit with a new one.

For example if you’re wanting to give up coffee, brew a cup of herbal tea in the morning and throughout the day when you would usually reach for your regular cup of coffee.

A constant reminder of why you’re trying to change your behavior is also helpful.

Remind yourself every day that you’re exercising so your body stays strong and you can go play with the kids or grandkids in the yard.

You can also put up a picture to remind you that you’re making frugal habits so you can one day purchase your dream home.

Keep your reason why you’re changing in front of you and then be prepared to stick it out.

Will it take time? Yes! it will take some time to make new habits and replace old ones, but it will be well worth it in the end.

Changing Habits through willpower

In trying to change a habit, it’s hard to keep up willpower for any length of time.

You can stick to a low-fat 1,000 calorie diet and go hungry for a week or two, but eventually your willpower fades, also you can do exercises that you hate for a while… until you run out of willpower.

What about getting up to take your children to school every morning? Brushing your teeth or going to work every day?

Those may not be your favorite things to do either, but you do them daily without the risk of running out of willpower. That’s because they have become habits.

They are so ingrained in what you do and who you are that you do them without even considering skipping a day or a week.

You don’t have to make a conscious decision each day to shower or drive to work. It’s just what you do – a habit.

When you first want to build a new habit, it takes a lot of will power to get it done day in and day out. As you start to establish that habit, it becomes easier until you don’t even have to think about it anymore.

What can You do?

Just being aware of this process helps you stick it out. You know you don’t always have to make such a big effort to go work out or skip the donut for breakfast.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. You know eventually it will become habit to go out for a run, first thing in the morning and grab some fruit or fix some eggs for breakfast.

While you’re in that transition from willpower to habit, you can use tools to make it easier. Use a to-do list or set a reminder to help stay on track.

Find an so the two of you can motivate each other and help bolster that willpower when it starts to fade after the first enthusiasm wears off.

Even something as simple as laying out your running clothes the night before and keeping your sneakers by the door will make it a little easier to go out for that run.

Do what you can to help your willpower along until you have made the new behavior a true habit. After that, it’ll be easy and automatic and you would have created a new lifelong habit.

Simple Hacks To Help You Build New Habits

Creating new habits isn’t easy so, here are six simple hacks that will make it a little easier. Use them until you’ve internalized the new habit and don’t need them anymore.

1. Schedule it & put it on your To-do-list

Sometimes we all forget to do “that” new thing we were trying to incorporate into our routine.

These reminders help you remember that you are supposed to be instead of a stack of waffles, or that you need to get that daily walk in.

Schedule your new habits or make them part of your daily to-do list until they become something you do automatically.

2. Make it public and Be accountable

Let family and friends know what new habits you’re trying to establish. They will call you out if you don’t stick to your plan and get you back on track.

You may even go as far as sharing it publicly on Social media or write a blog about your new journey.

Knowing that others read it and know about it, might be just enough to keep you going when you feel like throwing in the towel.

3. Be Encouraged by a habit you already have

Whenever possible, add the new habit to one you already have. For example, if you fix a cup of tea or coffee at 4pm, and you want to get in the habit of taking a daily walk.

Design a new ritual of going for your walk and then coming back home to enjoy your cup of tea. 

It’s much easier to amend an existing habit or ritual than creating an entirely new one.

4. Make slip-ups costly

Here’s a fun idea. Put a jar on the kitchen counter and each time you slip back into your bad habit or forget to stick to the new one you have to put in money into the jar.

It will quickly help you remember to skip that sugary food and motivate you to go out for that walk.

For extra motivation donate the money to charity at the end of the month or hand it over to your spouse to go spend on himself.

5. Find an accountability partner and help each other along

Find someone with the same or similar goal. This could be a workout partner or a diet buddy.

Keep tabs on each other and encourage each other to keep going. It’s much harder to skip a walk if you know someone else is depending on you being there.