It’s incredibly hard to grow and build better habits. Trying to improve on yourself in almost anyway is a gruelling task that can feel like punching a brick wall some days. But building better habits doesn’t have to always be done in some massive and life changing way. Getting healthier doesn’t have to mean the extreme of massively reducing calories and exercising 3-hours every day. Growing your career skills doesn’t have to come with sacrificing hours of your week either. Here are some little things you can do to help build some better habits over time.
Start Small – Like REAL Small
Seriously, it doesn’t need to be a huge step, going all out or nothing is an unhealthy mindset and will very likely lead to failure. It’s all little steps. Want to drink more water? Start with a full glass every day when you wake up, that’s enough to get started. Then when that happen is set add a second full glass later in the day. Then just slowly grow it over time. Same with other habits. Want to run more? Start with a small slow walk, then a second, then make one a slow jog, then make it longer. Start small then build.
Set Yourself Up
Put yourself in an environment where holding on to these habits are easier. This can look as simple as setting out running clothes the night before you run, removing tempting foods from the home if you’re trying to watch your health. Set yourself up for succession by placing yourself in an environment that will make life easier to hold on to these new habits.
Habit Stacking
Habit stacking is a technique in which you grow a small habit by stacking it atop something you already do. If you’re trying to read more, when you sit for breakfast every morning you read a page. It only has to be one for now but building a new habit whilst doing an old one is an easy way to start.
Eat Before You Feel Hungry
For those looking to build healthier eating habits, if you struggle with binge eating when you feel hungry then ensure you don’t get to a point when you do feel starved. This one I’m sure sounds counter intuitive of eating to prevent eating more. But if you set yourself a habit of eating regularly to prevent feeling starved you won’t over do it later and feel that over eating regret.
Park Further Away
Trying to get more steps in every day, it sounds small but it’ll build up. Heading to the shops or going out just park a little further away to add some extra steps in.
Bottle of Water Goals
If you are looking to drink more water, you can follow these easier by setting yourself daily goals. Find a bottle in which you know its millimetre count and regularly ensure you hit a specific goal at different points in the day. Sure, it’ll be annoying for a while to get started and you’ll pee (a lot) but it’s really worth doing. Trust me. You don’t want kidney stones. Again.
The Three Week Rule
It takes 21 days for a habit to supposedly form and strengthen. Keep this in mind when you set up, it might some tough at first and it will be. But if you can push through to the day 22 you might find it slowly feeling easier and easier to hold onto it.
Acknowledge Mile Stones
It’s important that you do reward yourself when hitting key mile stones. Having little celebrations when you’ve hit goals are actually a really good way to keep encouragement moving. Whether it’s a purchase of an item you really want as motivation, or a meal you’re craving that you can have once you reach a goal. It’s good to stop and recognise the hard work when you reach it.
Give Yourself Goals Not a Finish Line
Like above, it’s important to acknowledge and have goals to reach. But habits aren’t things that typically have an end goal. You want a healthier lifestyle it won’t ever really end. To hold a habit its important to realise that you should absolutely set yourself goals to reach to keep you motivated before the next one, but there isn’t a finish line. If you have a “finish line” it’ll feel awfully tempting to stop the habit once it’s reached and you feel no purpose to keep going now. Keep setting new goals until eventually it’s a habit you don’t even focus on anymore, you just do it.
