It’s hard to develop a steady habit. The brain resists both complex actions that require physical and emotional effort and the simplest and most routine rules. For example, you may find it equally difficult to train yourself to run in the morning and drink a glass of water with lemon before breakfast.
Why Is It Difficult?
This is the way of man: it is always easier for him to stay within familiar structures. Going beyond their boundaries is always associated with additional efforts. The brain is constantly looking for ways to work more efficiently and thus save energy. It creates certain automatic systems based on habits that allow you not to think about every action. Imagine how much energy you would expend if you had to think before washing your face, brushing your hair, or starting the car.
There are two kinds of effort required to perform any action: the internal effort, which depends on the action itself, and the effort to decide whether to do it or not. Habit can change the first type, but the main reason it works is to eliminate the effort of the second type.
Habits are metastable. This means that a certain state of affairs is stable for you, and any small change disrupts that habitual order of things.
Give Yourself More Time
It’s a popular belief that it takes 21 days to form a habit. But that rule doesn’t work for everyone. Philip Lally, Ph.D., has a theory that this figure originated from the many testimonials of patients who had undergone plastic surgery procedures. They claimed that 21 days after surgery they had fully adapted to their new appearance and accepted themselves.
But a study conducted in the UK showed that, on average, it took people 66 days to reach the automatic stage of habituation.
Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t manage to form a steady habit quickly. Most importantly, don’t give up. Go for the goal.
Start Small
Developing new behavioral rituals is a marathon, not a sprint. If we set too ambitious a goal and want to do everything at once, the idea is almost always doomed to fail. The path to a goal consists of many steps that must be taken regularly. Say you want to become a gambling expert. Set yourself a goal of creating a Woo Casino login and playing for 15 minutes every day. If you last a week, increase the number of minutes. You’ll be surprised how quickly 15 minutes turns into 1.5 hours. If you conquer yourself for 15 minutes, then the rest will go much easier. Any routine only works when it doesn’t make life difficult. Simplify the task, start gradually accustoming yourself to a new rule.
Create New Neural Pathways
The brain can be reprogrammed – build new neural pathways and change thoughts and behaviors. To connect a new pattern to more areas of the brain, you need to engage all five senses. Try a simple technique – do the following in sequence each day:
- Brew some tea, taste it.
- Smell your favorite perfume.
- Choose a song that will symbolize you this year.
- Put on an item of pleasant fabric.
- Sit in a comfortable chair, play your chosen song, close your eyes and, until the song ends, imagine achieving your goal. For example, the goal is to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Visualize in detail how and where you are walking, try to feel the emotions, to feel the rush of energy.
If practiced regularly, very soon these actions in everyday life will be firmly associated with the coveted habit, behavior, and mindset will change. Eventually, the new habit will automatically
Don’t Skip Twice
Everyone has days of fatigue, depression, and apathy. You don’t have to force yourself if you’re not in a resource. Here’s a but: didn’t do today, do tomorrow. For example, miss fitness or meditation 1 time – acceptable, 2 or more times in a row – task failed. The most important thing is to be consistent, not perfect.
Maintain a Sense of Accountability and Thank Yourself for Your Success
Tell your friends, colleagues, acquaintances. The more people know that you are on your way to your goal, the more motivation you have not to quit. Divide the task into stages, at the end of each do not forget to reward yourself. For example you decided to walk at least 10 km every day. At the end of each week, if you have managed to do the plan every day, reward yourself. It can be anything that brings you joy: from going to the movies to a new haircut.
