Building New Habits

Whether it's exercising more, reading before bed, or reducing an unhelpful behavior, building a new habit can be challenging. Many people feel driven at the start, only to find themselves losing motivation after a few days or weeks. However, habits aren't built through motivation alone. There are many strategies you can implement along the way that can make them much easier to stick with.

Set up your environment for success. Our surroundings have a powerful influence on our behavior, often without us realizing it. By removing barriers ahead of time, you make it easier to follow through in the moment. For example, if you want to exercise in the morning, you might lay out your workout clothes the night before or keep your dumbbells in a visible place. If your goal is to eat more fruit, keeping a bowl of fruit on the counter instead of hidden in the refrigerator makes it much more likely for you to eat it. Small changes to your environment can reduce the effort it takes to get started.

Don’t just wait until you're "in the mood." Many of us assume we need to feel motivated before we take action, but in reality, motivation often comes after we've already started. Think about times you've put off doing something only to realize you felt much better once you began. Instead of asking yourself whether you feel like doing the habit today, try asking yourself whether it's something that aligns with what is important to you. Acting based on your values, rather than your current mood, helps build consistency over time and align your actions more with your personal goals.

You can start small. When a new habit feels overwhelming, our brains often respond by avoiding it altogether. Instead of aiming for a 45-minute workout, you might commit to putting on your workout clothes and exercising for just five minutes. Rather than reading an entire chapter of a book, you could start with two pages. These smaller goals feel much less intimidating, making it easier to begin. And once you've started, you'll often find that you naturally continue beyond your original goal. Taking that first small step creates momentum, and momentum makes larger actions feel much more manageable.

These strategies can be applied to almost any habit you want to develop, whether it's related to your health, relationships, work, or hobbies. Building lasting habits takes effort and commitment, and there will likely be days when it feels difficult. That's completely normal. The goal isn't to be perfect, it's to keep returning to the habits that matter to you. Over time, those small, consistent actions can add up to meaningful and lasting change.

Key Takeaways

• Building a habit can be made easier through implementing techniques and shifting mindsets related to the habit.

• Planning your environment ahead of time can make it easier to continue with new habits, offering environmental cues that encourage action.

• Work towards acting based on values rather than current mood, as it helps build more consistent behaviors.

• If bigger actions feel overwhelming, commit to something small that still works towards your goal, and often, motivation will build and lead you to do more than initially planned.

• You don’t need to be perfect, just do your best!