How to Start a New Habit
Thursday, January 10th, 2008And Four Habits that will Increase Your Life Span by 14 Years
A group of English researchers came out with a study this week which concluded that people who don’t smoke, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and drink alcohol in moderation, live FOURTEEN years longer than those who didn’t. See the article here:
Pretty simple huh? But what about if you already smoke, eat a steady diet of fast fried foods, haven’t been in a gym since grade school, and have a reserved seat at the local bar? How do you stop doing the stuff that turns you into Norm Peterson from Cheers and start doing the stuff that turns you into Jack Lalanne?
Whenever you want to make a life change, whether you want to lose weight, start exercising regularly, stop smoking, stick to a budget, or stop arguing with your spouse, you’ve got to have a strategy if want to succeed. Without a plan, your new diet and gym membership will probably be replaced with potato chips and your couch within a week. Here’s a five-step process that will help you on your way to starting a new habit.
1. Self-Awareness - Identify why you want to do what you want to do: Before you can make a change you’ve got to do a bit of self-analysis. Whatever you want to do, you should ask yourself why you want to do it. For instance, if you want to lose weight ask yourself why? Is it because you’re embarrassed about your size? Is it because you’re traveling south in a couple of months and want to wear that swimsuit? Is it because your doctor told you that it’s a matter of life or death? Whatever your reasons are (and you can have more than one), these are what will motivate you to succeed.
2. Intention – Start thinking the right way: After you figure out why you want to make a change you’ve got to change the way you think. The most important muscle that you need to use to start living healthier is the one between your ears. Start thinking about achieving your goal. Go ahead and visualize the new you. Picture yourself losing weight, exercising, not smoking or whatever you want to do.
Visualization is a very powerful tool. There is a law of attraction in this universe which helps people manifest their dominant intentions. When you tap into this force by deeply thinking about your desires you will begin believing that you can achieve them. Seeing yourself achieving your goals, will help give you the confidence that you need.
3. Get Energized: Of course you need to do more than just think about your goals. Nothing is achieved without action. And action requires energy. Have you ever noticed how excited kids can get when they want something? This is the energy that you want to tap into. Without it you won’t have the willpower needed to stop falling back into old habits.
So how do you get this energy? The best way that I can explain it is to try to have you feel it. Think about something that you absolutely love doing. It can be a hobby, having sex, playing with your kids, or even something trivial like watching your favorite t.v. show. Now think about the enthusiasm that flows through your body when you’re doing it. How it’s the only thing on your mind at the time and how you don’t want it to stop. This is the kind of energy that you need.
4. Make a Game Plan: All the energy and positive thinking in the world won’t help if its not pointed in the right direction. That why you need to set out a specific game plan. Break down the steps that you need to take start your new habit. Do it in writing and paste it somewhere that you will see it often.
Some of the steps along the way will be obvious, some will require that you do a bit of research. For instance if you want to lose weight you may want to start by going on the internet to figure out how many calories you need to eat each day to achieve your goals. If you want to start exercising you may do some research on local gyms and sign up for a membership. The key is to write down the steps you feel that you need to take.
But take care not to get stuck at the planning stage. You don’t need to create a five-year lifestyle plan, you just need to figure out what you need to do now. Your plan will be constantly changing anyways.
When formulating your plan remember that breaking an old habit or addiction is not easy. Smoking is the obvious example. Your mind and body are used to living in a certain way and its hard to give that up. Here’s a good tip to help you achieve success: try replacing your bad habit with a good habit. It will help get your mind to stop thinking about what your missing and start thinking about what your doing. If you love reading, immerse yourself in your favorite fiction. If you love playing a sport, block off a fair amount of time so that you can do it. When you’ve got an addictive personality, don’t think of this as a weakness. Instead, use it to your advantage to start new positive habits and break the bad ones.
5. Do it Now! I mean right now. Take the first step on your game plan and do it immediately. After this paragraph ends, get up away from your computer screen and accomplish your first step. Throw out the junk food in your kitchen or the smokes in your pockets (or purse). Go for a walk. The first step to a long-term commitment is always the hardest, but once you accomplish it, you’ll be on your way. And once you do, keep going and building momentum. It is commonly thought that you need 21 days to ingrain a new habit. That’s only 0.07% of your life (if you live to 80). Once you make it that far the best thing you’ll notice that you won’t miss your old ways at all. In fact, you won’t want to go back. You’ll yearn from the high you get from exercising, and unhealthy foods won’t be so appealing. So go ahead, stop reading and start changing your life one day at a time.
