Breaking or making a habit stick

Back in the 70’s, is when it was first published in a self-help book, that it took 21 days to break or form a habit.  Whether or not this time frame is explicit, there’s a lot to say about it !

Many habits in our lives can form due to circumstances.  Such as eating during stress.  Smoking cause others are smoking, or due to stress.  Biting your nails.  Twidling your hair.  Putting off making a decision. Yes, that can be known as a habit too.

One mental goals, is in choosing to become alert, when habits surface.  Such as stopping yourself, when you find yourself biting your nails.  Or not putting that donut in your mouth.

Another is repetitiveness !  Such as the 21 day concept. 

Say you want to get in a habit of making your bed daily, working out on the treadmill, or even taking daily vitamins.  You being with day one and continue to repeat, until it becomes a part of your daily habit.  You can even mark you calendar, and recognize as each new day goes by, that worked toward your new habit.

Then there’s the mental awareness and repetitive combination.  Such as, to stop smoking.  Each day, you mentally cut back on the number of cigarettes you smoke, and if you repeat this daily, you will be continuing towards your goal.

Do these approaches work for everyone ?  Not if you’re not truly gun-ho about changing the habit.  Nor if there’s something subconsciously holding you back.  Everyone's brain is different, and habit formation also relies on aspects of experience and personality.

And habits can often easily come back.  With a simple trigger, like stress.

Another way of dealing with habit, like stress, is to move in the opposite direction of where your habit usually leads you.  If you normally eat when you are stressed, instead, go walking.

This is where hypnosis and even coaching can be very helpful.  You work together in deciding what continues to trigger your habit.  Making obtainable goals.  Then, you’re made accountable for each step you are to make. 

 

Don’t give up on yourself.  You’re worth fixing.  Consider a hypnotist or life coach, if you find you are having a difficult time, handling on your own.