Do you want to add new healthy habits? It isn’t as hard as you think. Yet, it does require commitment, practice, and a willingness to embrace change.
“First, repetition, next a habit, then a lifestyle.” – Sharlene Styles.
5 Simple Ways to Add New Healthy Habits
If your goal is to add new healthy habits, be patient. You can do this. Even though humans are creatures of habit, you can change old habits. But you must be motivated to adopt healthier habits to create a better life.
However, while I do not presume to dictate what you should try, I do have some suggestions. Everyone, including me, has some bad habits they’d like to shed. Some of these tips are ones I learned by watching others’ behavior. Yet most are ones I picked up on my own.
Importantly, remember that you are responsible for your actions. Once you realize this, you can learn to discard unhealthy habits and adopt healthier ones. So, try these simple ways.
Recognize Bad Habits and Identify Healthy Ones
Bad habits are easy to recognize, but overcoming them takes work. So, first acknowledge that it is pointless to keep repeating the same behavior that causes you problems. But it’s also unproductive to blame your parents, upbringing, status, education, career, money, or friends for your behavior. You must learn how to cope with problems.
Instead, take responsibility. Scrutinize what you’ve been doing to recognize your bad habits. But also identify the healthy habits of well-adjusted, successful, happy people. There’s more than coincidence in the similarities.
- Happy, successful people are naturally positive thinkers.
- Furthermore, they do what’s best for their overall health and well-being.
- They live in the present and know how to embrace life.
- Also, they work at being the best person they can be.
- Other hallmark traits are openness, kindness, and respect for others.
- Besides, they pursue their talents and maximize their strengths and skills.
So, somewhere here are habits and traits you can use to build upon.
Use Routine to Add New Healthy Habits
Whatever new habit you wish to create for yourself, you must embrace routine. While your desire to change is essential, doing something new just once will not result in a new, healthy habit. You must commit to the habit and be persistent long enough for it to become a natural part of your routine. How long will this take?
The length of time will vary depending on several factors. How motivated are you to change? Are you willing to delay immediate gratification and wait to see profound results?
Suppose you decide to exercise regularly to improve your physical and mental health. You can expect minor disappointments as you transition from a primarily sedentary lifestyle to an active one. Remember that exercise is what you do to comply. It requires awareness of the routine (in this case, exercise) to become a ritual. And a ritual is what you do to transform your life.
However, once your new activity becomes a regular part of your routine, you will successfully incorporate it into your daily life. So, you make routine your friend and develop a new healthy habit.
Reward Yourself for Your Efforts
Nothing solidifies a commitment more than rewarding yourself for your efforts. Additionally, it can be challenging to make significant changes, especially when they require a substantial amount of time and effort.
However, you are likely to have some minor successes along the way. Furthermore, you know there’s more work ahead. So, taking time now to enjoy your current success motivates you to keep going.
My Latte Habit
My go-to personal reward is a daily coconut milk latte. Thus, I was happy to learn that the mere scent of coffee is enough to boost math performance. Since I know my brain appears to work better after a caffeine treat, this is good news. Besides, apparently, my healthy habit reward has even more cognitive benefits. This is one of the reasons why I really love coffee.
Repetition Is Essential: It’s How You Add New Healthy Habits
Now that you’ve created a new healthy habit, you are just beginning. Besides, who has just one thing they want to change about themselves? You must take what worked in your first healthy habit and apply the same skills, determination, and effort into making more healthy choices and behavior changes.
“Repetition builds confidence, consistency, and ultimately, mastery. Excellence doesn’t come from intensity – it comes from consistency over time.” – Tony Robbins.
Furthermore, repeating workable patterns pays off in unexpected ways. Not only will it become easier to adopt new habits, but it will also become second nature. The repetition solidifies the habit.
Additionally, research indicates that recent memories are valuable in predicting future events. This helps you better deal with what is happening now. So, retrieve relevant experience and relate it to the present. Then, repeat your new healthy habit.
Recommend Your Successful Strategies to Others
After you build new healthy habits, and others see the change in you, they may ask your secret. This is your opportunity to recommend the strategies, tips, and techniques you find most helpful.
You could liken this to a personal Yelp review, except that it involves sharing practical behavioral advice.
Here’s another example. Suppose you lost weight, which is an obviously visible change. Your friends are likely to ask about your new healthy habits. Although you may not think you’re an expert, some of your new successful habits will be easy to see. So, be willing to share your recommendations.
Also, listen to what others have to share. You may pick up more ideas to use as you continue to add new healthy habits to live your best life.
