How to start a new Habit - "Start Small"

At the onset of Covid, around the second week of March, I wanted to get into to the habit of meditating. I had tried meditating in the past, but I didn’t follow it consistently due to which I never saw any value from it. This time around, I knew I wanted to start it as I foresaw troubling times ahead with Covid and I wanted to stay calm amid the storm.

I started very small - a daily 10-minute routine. I piggybacked it on my already existing habit of drinking tea at 3 pm. I planned to meditate before having my tea. I rewarded myself with the tea only if I meditated that day and I stuck to this. I did it consistently for a week. The second week, I missed a day. But rather than feeling dejected by it, I went back the next day to continue on the path. But luckily, post that I stayed the course. In 21 days, I had developed a routine – I would meditate at 2:50 pm everyday followed by my masala tea. Soon it became a habit and something I looked forward to daily.

In the 3rd month, I increased my time to 20 minutes and to 30 minutes in the 4th month. During this time, I also saw a huge difference in me and so did my husband who believed I had become a way calmer person.

Today, I am in my 4th month, and have not missed a single day of meditation and its part of my lifestyle.

Here  is my learning on starting a new habit –

• Start really small
• Piggyback it on an already established habit
• Reward yourself when you complete the habit

With time, when you start seeing value created by this new habit, you will not want to miss it and it will become a permanent lifestyle.