Have you ever heard that it takes 21 days for a new habit to truly stick? \u201cIt\u2019s a myth,\u201d says Benjamin Gardner, a social psychologist and senior lecturer at King\u2019s College London.<\/p>\n
The average time it takes to form a new habit is actually about 66 days, according to Gardner. But, he adds, everyone is different. If that makes you want to abandon your resolution, don\u2019t give up!<\/p>\n
The good news is that no matter what the magic number of days is for you, every day you stick with it, your healthy choices will get easier. \u201cHabit strength should be seen on a continuum,\u201d says Gardner. After as little as two weeks you may find new habits starting to feel more like second nature, even if they still take some effort.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re ready to make 2020 your healthiest year yet, try these tips to make your resolutions stick once and for all.<\/p>\n
Be specific.<\/strong> No matter what you\u2019re trying to achieve\u2014eating better, getting in shape, reducing stress\u2014a specific plan is going to get you further than a vague one. Don\u2019t just say you\u2019re going to \u201cstart running.\u201d Instead, pick concrete time and day you plan to do so, such as \u201cI\u2019m going to go running after work on Mondays.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re trying to form a new association with your habit,\u201d explains Gardner. Which means every time you go for a run after work on a Monday, that association is strengthened. Eventually, it will become automatic.<\/p>\n Be positive.<\/strong> Sometimes good habits are really about breaking bad habits. Gardner\u2019s research has confirmed what we all know: It\u2019s simply not possible to form a habit for not<\/em> doing something. Ending a bad habit, like smoking or eating fried foods every day, will likely require a new behavior to compete with that existing bad behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cThe very nature of a habit is that once it\u2019s locked in it\u2019s difficult to shift,\u201d says Gardner. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to battle against your own automatic processes.\u201d<\/p>\n What you\u2019re really doing is stopping yourself from responding to an impulse. Don\u2019t simply say you\u2019re going to give up afternoon potato chips.\u00a0 Make a plan for what foods you will replace the chips with.<\/p>\n Start simple.<\/strong> Ingraining new habits is hard work. And the more complex the habit, the longer it usually takes to settle in. For example, drinking an extra glass of water daily will probably be easier than finding 30 minutes every day for a new exercise routine. So get started by breaking those more complex goals into simpler, smaller goals. That might mean adding reminders to your calendar to work out at set times for the first month. \u201cAs long as you\u2019re motivated,\u201d says Gardner, \u201cover time your new habits will develop.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever heard that it takes 21 days for a new habit to truly stick? \u201cIt\u2019s a myth,\u201d says Benjamin Gardner, a social psychologist and senior lecturer at King\u2019s College London. The average time it takes to form a new habit is actually about 66 days, according to Gardner. But, he adds, everyone is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mind-and-spirit-uk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n