If you’re like me, there are plenty of habits that you would love to adopt. If you’re also like me, you’ve no doubt failed at maintaining these new habits once you’ve begun. Consistency is tough to master, it’s true—but that’s usually because we’re going about making these life-changes all wrong.
Whether you’re trying to wake up earlier, eat healthier, start exercising regularly, or change how you operate at work, making new habits stick relies on adopting them the right way. Here are your top strategies for building healthier, lasting habits.
3 Ways to Making Lasting Life Changes and Form Good Habits
1) Take Baby Steps
We live in a “now” culture. We want everything immediately, including things that take years to perfect and master. This is true of our habits, too. Instead of beginning in a small place, we try to start in the place we want to end up. This is an exercise in self-sabotage!
We can’t start by committing ourselves to an hour of exercise five days a week. We can’t declare that we’re going to cut out all carbs and red meat and stop cold turkey. What works is to ease yourself into new habits with baby steps. We all have to work to where we want to be. Start by trading one or two unhealthy foods each day for a healthier option. Gradually, add and trade more as you become used to it.
When it comes to diet, feeling deprived can easily lead to binging.
In the same way, starting at too high a level when it comes to exercise or any new habit (like waking up early) can be discouraging because it’s not immediately sustainable. Work your intensity up over time. Start by exercising for 20 or 30 minutes three days a week. Ramp it up when it makes sense and when you’ve mastered that smaller habit.
2) Guard Against Your Excuses
All of us have our excuses that we like to employ to get out of a new habit that we really don’t feel like doing. For many of us, we’ll do the mental gymnastics and justifications necessary to talk ourselves out of doing things that are very good for us! You’ll tell yourself the weather isn’t right. You’re too busy. You’re too tired. You have to go do this later, so you can’t do that now.
Most of us have pet excuses that draw us back to old back habits. Be aware of how you justify these behaviors and lack of follow-through. Many of these excuses are based on feelings. Habits must be built on discipline which transcends circumstance.
The more you do something, the more you’ll want to do it. You’re especially vulnerable to giving in to excuses in the beginning and in seasons of plateau. Don’t get discouraged. Instead, recognize how you use your feelings to escape your commitments.
This is where an accountability partner may help. Or simply keep track of the days that you do follow-through. This can be encouraging and motivating, as, psychologically, we don’t want to break a good streak.
3) Make Your Intentions Clear
All good habits start with good intentions. We want to do something to improve ourselves. However, this is also where we can get ourselves into trouble before we’ve even started. Your intentions can’t be vague when it comes to new habits. Vague intentions say “I will work out three days this week.”
While you have a number on your goal, it’s still not very specific. It allows you to put it off and put it off until you haven’t done it at all. The key is to give yourself specific perimeters to complete your new task.
“I will work out after work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.” or “I will task a brisk walk at lunchtime.”
Helpful, too, is to make if/then statements. I’ll call it “cause-and-effectifying” your habits. Connect your new habits to habits you already hold. “Once I do my workout, I will take my nightly/morning shower.”
“After I eat lunch, I will do twenty squats.”
While these may not encompass the whole of the habit you want to adopt, it will motivate you to prioritize the building of new habits.
While these are far from the only strategies for building good habits and making them stick, they provide a framework to start. They’re essential to your success—so don’t neglect them!
Have you had success in building new habits? Share what made them stick in the comments.