Most of us have heard that it takes 21 days to generate a new habit. According to a US News report (How Long Does It Really Take to Make Healthy Eating and Exercise a Habit? it takes most of us much longer than that.
For example, in a 2009 European Journal of Social Psychology study, researchers tasked 96 people with working on forming a single healthy habit – anything from drinking a bottle of water with lunch to running for 15 minutes before dinner. They found that it took participants anywhere from 18 (pretty close to 21) to a whopping 254 days to fully cement their habit of choice; exactly how long it took depended on how big or lifestyle-changing the habit was. However, the researchers concluded that, on average, it takes 66 days to form a single healthy habit.
What is actually at play here is auto pilot. We prefer to let ourselves act without much thought. Our behaviors end up being habits—bad ones or good ones.
I have suggested someone in the process of becoming a former smoker leave cigarettes in the trunk of the car where you cannot just reach in (on auto pilot) and grab a cigarette out of a pack and pop it into your mouth. Keep the lighters and matches in the garage or basement. I think you get the point. Because you want positive change to last, build in those things that make success easier for you than failure.
This week, decide what behaviors you do want to happen on auto pilot. Some things really are healthy habits….
Tips from 5 April 2010 to 6 August 2012 are here: Archived Tips
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Rev. Debra Basham
Voice or text: (269) 921-2217 Email: debra@scs-matters.com http://DebraBasham.com http://ImagineHealing.info http://SurgicalSupport.info Small Changes … Infinite Results™
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~ Mother Teresa |