Starting New Habits – 5 Things You Need to Know
We all know that starting new habits can be tough. It might be easy to try something new, but the tricky part is making your new habit stick. New Year’s resolutions are a perfect example of this struggle: You decide that you will do something new, set your mind to it, maybe even stick with it for a month or two, and then slip back into your old habits.
Yet, we pick up new habits throughout our lives. We may not even pay attention to the process, and one day you might notice yourself doing a thing and wonder: “How did this become a habit?”.
And that’s the key giveaway to the secret of starting new habits: You will need to address your core beliefs about yourself and set things on autopilot. Mere willpower alone is not enough to make new habits stick.
How do habits help you with happiness?
As you may have read on my blog, The World Happiness Report concludes that happiness comes down to managing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, as well as your relationships with others.
There are plenty of exercises and daily routines for you on my website that can help you manage your thoughts, feelings and behaviour in your daily life, but as mentioned in the intro paragraph, the tricky part is to make yourself do the exercises regularly.
This quick guide for starting new habits should help you make your new daily routines stick.
And imagine making a habit out of managing your thoughts, feelings and behaviour! Wouldn’t it be nice to think positive and feel happy without even trying?
With that in mind, here are 5 things you can do to start new habits and let go of old ones.
By the way, I’ve collected the best meditations and exersices on this website and blog into this eBook, along with daily practices and tips for more happiness.
The book is free, but if you so choose, you can support this site by paying a small amount for it. Totally optional, no pressure.
1. Don't try to force it
Trying to force yourself to start a new habit will not work. Why? Because the more you resist your old habits, the more your mind will make excuses for them.
Here’s a classic example: Don’t think about a pink elephant. What does your mind do? It immediately thinks about a pink elephant.
Let’s say you want to start a healthy diet. You decide that you will no longer eat any candy. It’s not allowed. Not one piece.
What do you think will happen? Your mind can’t stop thinking about candy. It will become an obsession until one day you will give in and go on a candy binging spree.
A far more useful strategy is to limit the amount of candy that you eat. Allow yourself some cheat days and you will see that you are no longer obsessed with your old habit since it’s allowed.
Instead of jumping into the deep end of the pool, give yourself some slack and start small. This brings us to the next point:
2. Think small: Starting new habits one step at a time
Start with tiny steps. It’s better to do something every day in small amounts than to force yourself to do something that requires much effort a couple of days a week.
This has two distinct advantages:
- You will do something towards your goal every day, which will develop new neural pathways in your brain, contributing to the process of building a new habit.
- If you miss a day, it’s not that big of a deal.
Let’s say you want to start exercising and get in shape. You can do many exercises at home in as little as 15 minutes. If you work out just a little every day but miss one or two days, that’s still 5 or 6 exercise sessions during the week (rest is still necessary, but you can mix things up with resistance training, cardio, and mobility exercises).
If you go to the gym three days a week and miss two days, that’s only one exercise session for the week.
Studies have shown that even the smallest success during your day can keep you motivated toward achieving your bigger goals. Starting new habits in bite-sized steps will help make them seem more achievable.
3. Set yourself up for success
Speaking of small successes:
Make it easier for you to do the things you want to do.
Respectively, make it harder for you to do the things you wish not to do.
This usually means rearranging your environment in a way that supports your new habits.
For example, if you want to start eating more healthy food, make it more available. Place fruit on your desk in a spot that is easy to see and reach. Hide your treats all the way back in the top cabinets of your kitchen. They will still be available, but they will require effort to get to.
If you want to start exercising more, place your exercise equipment so that you can access them with very little effort.
If you want to start writing, keep a pen and paper or your laptop always available. You can easily carry a small notebook and a pen with you at all times.
This can apply to your social connections as well. Surround yourself with people who share the same goal as you. Try to stay away from people who put you down or otherwise are not supportive of your new habits.
4. Utilize your subconscious mind
Your habits are based on your self-image. You act according to the beliefs you hold about yourself.
If you believe that you can’t be fit or you just want cookies so much that you can’t eat a healthy diet, that’s how your mind will make you act.
On the other hand, if you believe that you can be fit and eat healthy (or have any other habit), you will empower yourself to reach that goal.
The good news is, your mind cannot tell the difference between reality and imagination. What do I mean by this? It means that you can use your imagination to visualize a new you. Use your imagination to show your mind the version of yourself that you wish to become.
Your beliefs about yourself dictate your thoughts, words, and actions. This happens subconsciously, and studies suggest that you might make all of your decisions (even the ones you think you make consciously) first in your subconscious mind.
Since your subconscious mind already guides you through your daily life, why not make it work towards your goals? This might be “a shortcut” to starting new habits.
A great method for giving instructions to your subconscious mind is visualisation meditation.
5. Reward and measure
Rewarding yourself for your success and keeping track of your progress will help you stay motivated.
As mentioned, divide your new habit into small daily activities.
Everything from making your bed to doing all the dishes will give you the rewarding feeling (as the brain releases dopamine, the “feel-good hormone”) of having completed a task.
The satisfaction of completing a task will keep you wanting more (that’s the dopamine right there) and that energizes you to keep working towards your larger goal.
Then, make sure you have an immediate reward for your effort.
Unfortunately, this does not mean that you can eat a whole cake right after your workout. It means that the more rewarding you make the learning process, the more likely you are to stick with it.
Instead of choosing the healthiest snack, choose one that is the tastiest (of the healthiest options). Or instead of choosing the most efficient workout, choose the one that is the most fun to do. This will keep you motivated.
You should also measure your progress in some way.
Whatever your preferred method is, use that. You can draw graphs, take progress pictures, write in your journal etc. Seeing progress helps keep your motivation high.
Conclusion
Starting new habits can be tough. It might be easy to try something new, but the tricky part is making your new habit stick.
the secret of starting new habits: You will need to address your core beliefs about yourself and set things on autopilot. Make your habit a subconscious activity, since willpower alone is not enough to make new habits last.
Use these 5 methods to start new habits:
- Don’t try to force it
- Start small
- Set yourself up for success
- Utilize your subconscious mind
- Reward and measure
Ultimately, your habits are based on your self-image. You act according to the beliefs you hold about yourself. Work on changing your beliefs and your habits will form around these new beliefs.
Disclaimer
The entire contents of this blog are based upon the opinions of the author. It is intended for informational and educational purposes only. The information in this blog is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care professional before trying any of the products or methods based on this content. I cannot guarantee that you will be free of stress, anxiety or depression, or that you will be happy. I simply want to share with you what I have discovered during my twenty years of seeking happiness and what has worked for me may not work for you.
