Someone rightly said that your habits are fuel for your success. It largely depends on what kind of habits you want to inculcate. Some habits are nothing but just hindrances in achieving our goals. Everyone has it- bad habits that we wish we didn’t have. We all know that we should spend less time scrolling on Instagram or play fewer online games. Or perhaps, you have tried quitting alcohol a bunch of times. Maybe you failed to exercise regularly or you are just too tired to start. Whatever it is, quitting bad habits or starting a new one, it is you who has the key to success.
How long does it take to change habits?
This is one frequently asked question, though there is no exact number to answer this question. Mostly, it depends from person to person as to how they pick up a habit. There have been multiple studies to come to a realistic and practical time frame for forming a habit.
One famous rule is “The 21 Day Rule”. It was made famous by Dr.Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon. He tried to study the time a patient takes after a surgery adjusting. He found that an average patient would take about 21 days adjusting. Another researcher, Philluppa Lally, a psychology researcher at UCL with her team studied a variety of habits. Right from easy ones to difficult ones, in terms of how long it takes people to pick them up. She concluded that people automatically take up and activate new habits with a time frame. It takes 2 to 8 months to make a new habit or break an old one.
Now, let’s understand the ways in which we can get rid of our bad habits and replace them with good ones:
Identify the habits you want to change
It is not as easy as it sounds. In order for you to change any habit, you have to follow the entire habit-breaking process. It starts when you pinpoint bad habits in terms of specific behavior. It could be something as simple as not dumping your work clothes on bed or shoes right in the living room and instead, putting them back into the closet.
Specificity is the most critical aspect here. Otherwise, you will vaguely be hitting a broad habit. Focusing on a specific behavior lets you concentrate on one thing. It will help you work more quickly towards it, without wasting time.
Reprimand yourself for every bad habit that you have
A lot of times we realize that we have a bad habit but we do not do anything about it. We just let it be there. In turn, you should do something, like paying a self-imposed fine every time for your bad habit. It gives negative feedback for the actions that we should not have done. Fines can add up and can hurt. If you add the fine to see what it cost over a year or a lifetime. It will help you visualize all of the other things you could do with that kind of money. You may also involve a friend of yours to be a partner in it and make sure you help each other out.
Practice mindfulness
It is a way by which you can be aware of things around you. About what is happening and why is it happening. You are able to see the impact of pursuing a negative habit as compared to any other person. Practicing mindfulness techniques and even meditation activates the prefrontal cortex. The part of your brain responsible for imbibing new habits and bringing them into action. You may not find it useful in the first go but trust me, the more you practice, the better you become at this.
Start by making small changes
It sure takes time and efforts to form a new habit. It doesn’t happen over night. One has to be patient and learn to take baby steps towards the bigger goals. Small changes can be just as powerful as big changes, if not more so. The reason being, that small changes are more sustainable, compounding, and accumulate with time.
For instance, you want to cut out sugar consumption from your diet. The first step in the right direction would be to switch to low-fat milk instead of using creamer in your coffee. Straight away removing all traces of sugar from your diet can be futile and many times counterproductive.
Bottom Line
One common mistake that people do is that they expect an overnight transition to a habit. If they do not see it happen, they get upset and then quit. A human brain needs a lot of time to form a new connection and give birth to a new behavior altogether. The main key is to have patience and keep the fight on.