Maya Advises: Six Steps to Forming New Habits
This article aims to teach you how to adopt new habits: Maya Advises: Six Steps to forming new habits.
A couple of weeks ago, we covered What are habits, and how do they benefit us?
Even though it’s straightforward, changing unproductive behaviour is not easy. Consistency is the key. We all want results fast. But, once you start, it is hard to commit to something every day when you don’t see any results for at least 30 days.
I had to adopt new habits and stop procrastinating and destructive behaviour to achieve the desired results. It was successful for me to change my habits.
It is possible to create positive changes in your life and start living the life you always wanted.
You can do the same! For more information on developing discipline and staying consistent, continue reading.
Identifying goals
How is your current situation? How would you like to change the results? If you achieve your goals, how will you feel? Answering these questions will help you clarify your goals.
Some of these goals may include: quitting smoking, starting an exercise routine, increasing financial income, quitting procrastination, improving discipline, getting more confident, starting a diet to lose weight, improving relationships with your partner, resolving business issues, beginning a hobby, starting a business, making an important decision, taking care of yourself, increasing productivity, etc.
There is at least one thing on this list that every one of us wants. So let’s define it, and then we can move forward.
Recognize your behaviour
Do you have a behaviour that prevents you from achieving this goal? In life, there are no guarantees. We can, however, increase our possibilities by making intelligent choices. We all experience negative situations from time to time. It has to do with our behaviour if negative situations in life last too long – years in some cases.
Whether you’ve been struggling financially for months or years – it’s the same thing.
You need new habits if you’ve been trying to lose weight for years without success.
Take a moment to ask yourself
Does your behaviour prevent you from achieving your goals?
Are you oversleeping, overeating, cancelling appointments at the last minute, lying to others, scrolling through social media, lazy, watching too much TV, playing video games for too long, avoiding conflicts at all costs, comparing yourself with others, copying others’ work? I am sure you are doing some of these behaviours, which prevent you from achieving your goals.
The decision and commitment to act
Decide to replace unproductive habits and behaviours with more productive ones. First, decide what you will do for yourself, and then commit to it. There is no point in determining without committing yourself to it.
To commit means to repeat some behaviour for at least 30-60 days until it becomes a habit.
Changing overnight or achieving significant results overnight is impossible, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.
Meditation becomes a habit in 30 to 60 days if you practise it in continuance.
For exercise to become a habit, you must do it for 30 to 60 days.
To adopt it as a habit, you must stay consistent in not touching your phone while working for 30 to 60 days.
When you adopt something as a habit, it becomes easy to maintain. For example, consider what it would be like if exercising became as natural as brushing your teeth.
Your choices are under your control
Developing strong self-control is essential in everyday life. You can’t blame anyone for this; it is entirely your responsibility. Your choices are the only thing you have control over in your life.
Remember: You always have a choice about how you will respond to triggers, challenges, problems, and unpredictable changes.
Beliefs
Are you able to imagine yourself already being “there?”
Are you confident that you can get better results? Your commitment to the new behaviours you want to adopt won’t last if you do not believe you can achieve your goals.
It is pervasive for people to quit exercising, learning, and applying for jobs because they doubt that they can succeed.
So stick to your beliefs!
Take small steps
Don’t make too many changes at once. For example, if you usually get up at 7 am and suddenly decide to get up at 5 am, exercise first thing in the morning, work all day, then read all night while attempting to have a date with your partner because that’s what successful people do – you won’t succeed. Instead, you will feel overwhelmed and decide to return to where you started.
But if you carefully take every step, one by one, the success of creating new habits is inevitable.
Maya can be always reached on her website for additional advice and information regarding many different topics.
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Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
