Habitual Happiness

We all have some bad habits and some good habits. How do we kick the bad ones and bring in some better ones? The practice of change is exactly how it sounds, practice. If you are looking to change, you must exercise new habits.

Developing new habits can be tricky. You must have the discipline to follow a routine and not just for a day! How long does it take to form this new habit you want to create? Well, Philippa Lally is a health psychology researcher at University College London and she found after a study of 96 people over 50 weeks, that on average it took anywhere from 18-254 days depending on the person, circumstance’s, and the behavior.

So, don’t get mad when you are struggling to stop buying Doritos when you go to Kroger (Midwest Thing) on your first couple tries. There are many things that go into forming a new habit and the main one is DON’T QUIT. For instance, if you are trying to lose some weight and you cheat on your new diet 3 times your first week that doesn’t mean give up!

Eating.

The problem that arises with forming new habits is when things don’t go 100% the way they expect it, people quit and that simply won’t get you what you want. What you need to focus on is improvement not perfection at first. When starting a new diet, it isn’t always the best idea to go all out and cold turkey the old foods you were eating. When you are in the habit of eating sugar or an excess amount of food per meal, your body is going to notice that all of that just stopped and will send some SUPER INTENSE cravings your way. Start small and work your way up to be an all-out natural food eating machine!

Early Mornings.

Waking up early just isn’t for all of us. Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves. When you wake up early in the morning and get things done you feel great the rest of the day. Most people tend to wake up, shower then head off to work or school. What if before you went to work or school you had already done a work out ate a big nutritious breakfast and read something out of your favorite book? Wouldn’t you agree that would be a VERY productive day right from the start.

Now doing all of that may sound like a lot, but realistically you could accomplish everything listed in an hour or so. Having trouble with the energy to do those things early in the morning? Try just simply getting up earlier and waking up. Get your body used to being up that early and then proceed to add activities to your morning routine. Don’t overcomplicate or overwhelm yourself. Do what feels right and become the person you want to be.

Whether we like it or not our daily habits shape our lives. From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep we are using our subconscious mind, which controls most of what we do. From driving, to the first thing we grab in the fridge for a snack to whether we skip the gym that day. It all goes back to our subconscious mind and how we program ourselves. Program yourself to be the person you want to be by focusing on developing habits. Remember, start small and work your way to greatness.

Mylai.