ACCORDING to scientific evidence, changing your habits can take from as little as 18 days to as many as 254 days.
Whenever you are trying to grow new habits and abandon unhealthy patterns, please remember that most of them are automatic and developed over years of repetition.
The human brain does not distinguish between good and bad habits.
This makes it more challenging to unlearn bad ones.
The timeframe required to change differs from person to person, depending on the habit and how consistently you replace them with new positive habits.
Instead of trying to change everything at once, you should wake up each day and ask yourselves, “Who do I want to be in life and what is the greatest expression of myself that I can present to the world today?”
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When we show up as the best version of ourselves on any given day, we increase the likelihood of being consistent.
As you embrace change and reinforce better habits, you may encounter some obstacles.
In this article, we will discuss different ways to overcome and avoid these forks on the road.
Set realistic goals
As the old Chinese proverb says, “It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backwards.”
As we set milestones, we should set achievable goals, taking each day one step at a time.
A calorie deficit is suffered when an individual eats food that provides less energy than the body requires.
This forces the body to make its energy from stored-up fats.
By creating a reasonable deficit of around 300-500 calories, one may lose an average of 300g weekly, which may initially go unnoticed.
With consistency, after two months, this person would have lost over 3kg in weight.
Within a year, this person will be unrecognisable. Success is more attainable when we make gradual changes.
Prepare for discomfort
Change is achievable when we step outside of our comfort zone.
We should prepare to be uncomfortable as we step into unfamiliar territory.
“Growth is painful, as is change. Nothing, however, is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong,” said Mandy Hale, a blogger turned New York Times bestselling author and speaker.
When we embrace this initial discomfort, we make it possible to forge new and better habits.
Be patient
As earlier highlighted, forming a new habit can take between 18 and 254 days.
The average number of days it takes is 66.
Instead of being upset and choosing to quit when you do not seem to be making speedy progress, extend yourself some grace and be patient.
“Rather than viewing a brief relapse back to inactivity as a failure, treat it a challenge to get back on track as soon as possible,” according to former world no 1 tennis player Jimmy Connors.
Identify your triggers
We should identify what sets off our bad habits.
This may be certain places or the company we keep.
We should avoid putting ourselves in situations where we are tempted to fall back into old habits.
When we know what triggers us, we can have better control of the situation and avoid a relapse.
Replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones
It is easier to form a habit than to break it.
Instead of trying to break old ones, override them with new ones.
For example, if you are used to late night snacking on junk food, instead of removing the snack altogether, you can switch to a healthy alternative snack.
Enlist support
Having a support network in your life and being a part of other people’s support networks means you can add to their energy and their mental, emotional and physical resources.
Breaking bad habits can help us to improve our lives and well-being in many ways.
Being aware of our triggers and actively working towards forming healthy habits increases the likelihood of success.
Remember to set achievable goals and be patient with yourself as you step out of your comfort zone and pursue excellence.
- Rutendo Kureya is a medical student at Saint Petersburg State Paediatric Medical University, Russia. She is passionate about issues concerning the state and welfare of fellow Zimbabweans. She can be reached at kureyaru@gmail.com. Mobile: +7 996 274 98 66 Facebook: Rutendo Kureya. She writes here in her personal capacity.