5 Ways to Create Healthy Habits
We are creatures of habit and creating a new one can feel really challenging.
There’s many studies and different thoughts on how long it takes. Different studies quoting 21, 30, 90 days with 66 days being the average.
I quite like the 21/90 rule of thumb. 21 days to create a new habit and 90 days to create a new lifestyle. In any case it’s helpful to have some strategies to get started.
Let’s look at 5 different ways to create a new healthy habit:
1. The M.A.P Method:
Dr BJ Fogg, a behaviour scientist at Stanford University and author of Tiny Habits, talks about behaviour changes when 3 things come together: motivation, ability and a prompt.
Motivation:
This refers to your level of motivation to create a new behaviour. This can also be referred to and you might have heard a lot about your ‘why’.
ie. I want to start eating more vegetables and will start by having a healthier snack in the afternoon instead of my go to tea and biscuits.
Ability:
This is how easy or difficult it is for you to achieve the new behaviour. I talk a bit about this when setting up your home. (ie. Space to roll out your yoga mat if you want to start a yoga practice at home). Make it as easy as possible for yourself by removing any obstacles.
ie. I will prep my snack in the morning so I have something healthy to hand.
Prompt:
Think of this as a call to action that reminds you to do the new behaviour. Could you set a reminder in your phone for instance? Or attach the new habit to an existing one?
ie. I already have a break scheduled for 3pm. I will have my healthy snack then.
2. Take Small Steps:
We often want to go for a big change and try and tackle everything all at once.
For instance, changing our entire morning routine from hitting snooze every day to getting up early, meditating, journaling, yoga & exercise. Try one thing for 5 min and build up from there.
3. Crowding Out:
Often people feel deprived when trying to live a healthier lifestyle. This is why I’m a fan of the crowding out method. Focus on the healthy habits to incorporate rather than the bad habits you want to stop.
Over time you will notice that you naturally go for the healthier ones because you like how it feels.
4. Link Habits
Trying to tackle too many things at once can feel overwhelming. I like linking habits and goals together.
For example, if you want to get outside, move more throughout your day and spend more time with friends try incorporating these into the same activity by going for a walk at lunch outside with a friend.
5. Acknowledge your Accomplishments
Acknowledge every accomplishment along the way. Even the really small ones. I love journaling for this. Each month I set intentions. Then I look back and can see how far I’ve come and what I’ve accomplished.
Creating a new habit is a change in our mindset that it’s possible and a change in our behaviour to do it. The key is to start small, know your why for doing it and have a strategy to follow through.
I’d love to know a healthy habit you’d like to create and which strategy you’ll try.
