How to Develop Positive Habits
We have all started a new habit, only to have it fall off and leave us feeling disappointed.
Making new habits stick is a breeze when you follow these five simple steps.
Watch to learn how to develop positive habits.
GOAL - What is your goal for this habit?
You need to have a reason that you love. Don’t start something just because you read about it, or someone told you it’s something you should do. Get clear on why you are doing this and remind yourself of that reason when your commitment starts to flag.
RECORD - Keep a visual record of your progress.
Make yourself a gold star chart and put it on your fridge then get the satisfaction of adding a star every day. Seeing your progress is a powerful motivator, and you get a lovely little dopamine hit when you check it off the list each day.
EASY - Make your goal so easy that you can’t fail.
You can always exceed your goal, the trick here is to make the goal so small that you can’t not make it. Say you want to walk every day, set your base level goal as 1 minute. You can walk 5 miles if you want to, but on a day when you didn’t manage to get your walk in, you can always find a minute even if you walk to the end of the driveway before going to bed. This way you get to keep up your winning streak on that chart in step 2.
ATTACH - Attach your new habit to an existing one that you do without thinking.
Your life is made up of lots of little habits, brushing your teeth, making coffee, commuting etc. Take your new habit and pair it with something you already do. Let’s suppose you want to work on your abs every day. Pair your abs with coffee by doing crunches while your morning pot of coffee is brewing.
THINK - Think about the obstacles that might come up and plan to overcome them.
Give some thought to the excuses and reasons that may interrupt your goal, and then make a plan for how to overcome them. If you are cutting out dessert and have been invited out to a restaurant, think about having a cup of herbal tea to finish your meal. If you know bad weather will put you off going for a bike ride, have an alternate plan to go to a spin class instead.
