Establishing Habits for long-term success

Effective ways to make a new habit stick

Instilling new habits to better one’s life is on everyone’s wish list. And most people regularly try to change their daily patterns, behaviors, and practices. However, habits serve you well and show positive results when they become deeply ingrained.

Read also: 13 sensible daily habits (Highly recommended)

Here are seven effective ways to make a new habit stick.

1. Hold yourself accountable

Practicing self-accountability will make you disciplined. You’ll work more diligently towards making your habit last since you know if you lose your way, you’ll be the one to admit the mistake, own the responsibility and make amends.

When you hold yourself accountable, you become cautious in your approach. You make all efforts to stay away from the potential pitfalls and devise methods to stay focused on the habit you’re trying to develop.

2. Remind yourself of your why

Building a new habit entails stepping out of your comfort zone. It’s challenging to embrace anything new, be it a ritual, a daily routine, or a new way of doing things.

If you’ve decided to develop a new habit, there’s usually a reason behind it — and a strong one at that. You must always keep your why — the intention behind the start of a habit — to keep you motivated and enthusiastic.

Regularly remind yourself why you started in the first place and envision how the new habit will make a difference in your life. Keeping your purpose at the front and center of your mind will serve as the driving force that will help the new habit stick.

3. Go slow

Adopting a new habit can be intimidating if you set an unrealistic timeline and expect fast results. There are high chances that you’ll get overwhelmed and finally quit after a while.

To make the habit stick and see encouraging results, you must take things slowly. A gradual change is more sustainable and brings about meaningful and lasting results.

Tapping into the power of baby steps will enable you to go all the way and make incremental progress. The gradual change will also not be taxing on you, and you’ll be more receptive to embracing it.

4. Practice regularly

Unlike computer programming, cultivating new habits is not a one-time task. It’s an ongoing process.

Whether it is eating right, going to the gym, stopping biting your nails, changing the sleep pattern, meditating, waking up early, letting go of overthinking, doing focused work, staying off social media, or any other habit you’re trying to change or develop, the fundamental process remains the same.

It’s essential to condition yourself and remain consistent for some days initially to make the new habit a part of your system. Practice patience, daily work on your habit, preferably at a fixed time, to make the pattern automatic.

5. Make it fun

People who succeed in building a new and ensuring the habit sticks don’t have loads of willpower. They apply insightful ways to make it as stress-free as possible.

Establishing a habit and adopting healthy behavior can often be made interesting if you gamify the process and make it fun.

This lowers your chances of going back to old habit, increases your willingness to practice the new routine, and encourages you to stick to the new habit.

Gamification especially works well with health-related habits and positive lifestyle changes. With the help of mobile phone apps, smartwatches, or activity-tracking technology, you can measure your progress and track your goals, all the while enjoying reaching milestones and collecting badges.

6. Reward yourself

While changing old patterns into new ones, it is essential to keep yourself inspired and driven. Celebrating milestones and regularly patting yourself on the back for achieving your habit goals is an easy way to encourage yourself and boost your morale. When you reward yourself, it not only uplifts your spirits but also motivates you to follow through.

There’s nothing more uplifting than appreciating your hard work, boosting your self-worth, and feeling good about yourself.

The reward doesn’t have to be a big thing or an expensive gift. Give yourself something small but valuable or treat yourself lavishly that will make you feel celebrated and worthwhile. Knowing you have earned your prize will fill your heart with joy and deepen your self-belief.

7. Go easy on yourself

No one can be expected to transform themselves at the flip of the switch. Developing habits take time, and the longer you’ve been with a bad habit, the harder it will be to kick it out and replace it with a positive practice.

To make the transition smooth and ensure the new habit sticks, you must remain gentle with yourself. If you miss practicing the habit once in a while or get derailed, know that it’s okay.

You’ll occasionally stumble and fall. But by and by, you’ll get there. This is no reason to be harsh on yourself or pull yourself down for this. Each time you falter, show yourself self-compassion and focus on understanding why you returned to the old ways. Identify the issue and fix it.

If you’re committed to bettering yourself and making a lasting change in your life, you’ll autocorrect each time you deviate from the path. So stop worrying and give your brain time to rewire itself to the new arrangement.

Read also: 7 traits of the world’s happiest people (must read)

In Conclusion

When it comes to changing patterns and building lasting habits, there’s nothing complicated or unfathomable. It’s a matter of doing things right — day after day, with consistency and commitment.

The initial phase does involve some struggle, but if you allow the new behavior to stay with you for a while and give it time to take root, any habit can become second nature and be made to operate on a subconscious level.

Mindful repetition of the habit-forming process is the shortest and one of the most effective ways of reaching your end goal. Once you succeed in inculcating a new habit, it will improve your life for the better.

Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.

— James Allen

Originally published on drroopleen.com

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