Dos and Don'ts of Building a New Habit

Humans are controlled by habit. It can be good or bad, but our habits shape our lifestyle. While some of us are blessed with a strong willpower, able to make or break a habit easily, many of us struggle with it. We don't know what steps we must follow to build a new habit. So let's take a good look at the things that we should do in order to build a new habit:

Start small: You don't have to make intense changes in your life all of a sudden. Just start with a small change, and you will not feel overwhelmed. 

Don't rush: Everything takes time. So don't think you have to become a clean eater in 1 week. Take your time, and keep in mind that if you keep going at it, then you will surely achieve your target.

Plan ahead: Don't just start a new habit just for the sake of it. Make a habit so that it positively influences your life. So think about all the aspects of your life that will be benefited from this new habit and then proceed.

Reward important milestones: It is important to reward yourself for all the hard work you do to remain motivated. So whenever you get one step closer to your goal, reward yourself to keep the energy going.

Focus on one habit at a time: The worst you can do to yourself is focus on too many things at a time. Rather than trying to master too many things at once, just focus on building one habit at a time, and once you have built that, proceed to building other habits.

Be ready for obstacles: No matter what you do in life, obstacles are bound to come your way. So be prepared to struggle while trying to build a new habit. But once you can overcome these obstacles, you will achieve your vision.

The secret of building a new habit is to figure out what habit you need to build first, then make a commitment to work at it on a daily basis, and use a series of these commitments to increase the chances of success.

This write up was first published in The Daily Star.