Habits are the actions we take without much thought, which makes them a great tool to implement a change. If you understand what a habit is, then you stand a better chance of being able to create succeed in creating new ones.
Unconscious Action
According to studies, about 40% of what we do each day, we do without conscious thought i.e through habit. We do it because it’s part of our programming.
Imagine all those things you keep thinking you want to do/change/stop doing. How great would it be to get to a point where you no longer have to consciously think about it?
How Habits are Developed
Habits start out as an action in pursuit of a goal. over time, you will repeat whatever action works. Eventually your brain will develop an association with a trigger and you won’t need to think about that goal. At some point you may not even be able to recall why you are taking the action. You will now take action based on a particular trigger – no more thinking required!
Effort is Required
It’s not easy to create new or change existing habits. There is absolutely a period of reprogramming which requires very deliberate conscious thought, effort and structure. It takes consistency and repetition.
Be Aware – The 21 Day New Habit Myth
In one of my earlier posts I talked about the idea that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. Some how, over the years, research into new habit creation became condensed down to “it takes 21 days to create a new habit”, but this wasn’t what the research identified. It found it can take longer and it does vary. So when you are working on a new habit, don’t get to 21 days and give up if you’re not quite there.
So what do you want to start doing?