How to simply create and stick with positive habits

 Have you ever tried to create or form a habit? well if you have you know how hard it is to start a new habit leave alone sticking with the habit. This six-letter word can take you to unimaginable heights in the aspects of what you can accomplish and in the same way it can drag you to the gutters of life with bad habits.

we cannot equate every aspect of our lives with habits but you will agree how we live our lives is for the most part controlled by habits. Talk of the kind of relationships, food, business, and life in general that we lead.

Habits; are gained practices and molds systematically pursued until they turn practically unintentional. With this definition, look at the words "practically unintentional." This means that the habit is ingrained in you it is relatively uncontrollable. Concerning bad habits like procrastination, watching porn, junk eating, and so forth, it is so destructive. But with positive habits, this can be really, really good.

  Basically, positive habits are habits that have constructive results, and negative habits, are habits that have obstructive results. But as much as one of the categories leads to a very different destination from the other. For sure, both have been described by many experts on habits as the "habit loop," which brings us to an unrelenting question: how does a habit get formed?

Habit Formation

Every habit is created/formed and gets stuck through this loop. What is the loop you are asking? the loop is a three-stage circle that includes:

1. The cue; It is that thing that triggers you to do the habitual behavior, this could be anything your mind associates with the habit

2. The Routine(the habit); what you actually do,

3. The Reward; this is how you feel after performing the routine perhaps feeling good after having a drink. 

Habit formation is chiefly laid on these three pillars but creating habits, especially the positive ones is quite a task, to say the least. It takes a fair amount of effort to form a habit because you have to perform the loop repeatedly until it is ingrained in your system and becomes automatic. Think about all the new years' resolutions you have had only to get them onto a deathbed by February.

If you want to change your actions or habits the question should not be, how can I convince myself to act in a certain way? a better and more impactful question should be which process/system do I want to employ to be able to control my life?

The goal is not just to eliminate the bad habit, but to make sure that the new habit you want to employ in your system sticks and becomes automatic. Look at a study about creating new habits that showed 77% of people stick with new habits for a week and default to old habits. Only 19% of people stick with their new habits for more than 2 years. 

A good question to ask now would be is creating a habit suppose to be this hard? the answer is a qualified no. Studies have shown that following certain approaches will not only lead to habit and automaticity of them but you will have fun while you are at it. You might even feel weird if you are not able to perform them.

How to create and stick with positive habits

1. Start ludicrously small

Never increase an effort to a habit that you want to form or have formed before it has become part of your natural behavior. Instead of starting with going to the gym daily how about doing 5 push-ups in your house daily first or even one push-up.

 2. Start with the easy habit

 You want to start with the habit that seems easy for you this way the habit is half done, in your mind at least, and as a result, create the will to follow through. If you want to create a habit to read more you start by reading a page before you sleep daily. This may turn to motivate you to read a few more pages or a chapter a day but just remember you should not strain.

3. Choose habits that compliment your interest

Creating positive habits should be within in line with your interests or values otherwise you are limiting yourself before you even start. If say you want to create a habit of meditating, and you are not interested in the practice of sitting silently alone. you won't follow through leave alone stick with the habit.

4. Undertake one habit at a time

If you are just starting out in this formation of habits strategy start with one habit before you embark on other habits. If you want to lose a few kilos instead of launching both diet and exercise habits at the start, how about starting with a diet by reducing fatty foods and introducing greens in every meal. Once this is achieved and you lose some weight through the diet it will motivate you to follow through with some exercise.

Conclusion

We have seen that habits practically lead our lives without us even realizing it. But all is not lost as we can change at any time and follow certain approaches like the one described above and many more you might find on the internet. Just remember habits can be employed and they have the power to make you or break you.

As always thanks for reading the article up to this point if you like it do not forget to share it with someone. If you would like more about the formation and use of positive attitudes feel free to reach out to me through my email on the profile page on the top right of the page, I wish you a productive week ahead.