Monthly Featured Article (May 2019)

21-Day Habit Creation: The Incredible Power of Habit Forming
Part Two

by Susie J. Briscoe

Part Two

How to Create New Habits

There are definite methods to creating positive, new habits that have been proven to work. There are fundamental “ingredients” found in every newly-developed habit and you can use these ingredients any time you desire to develop habits that will be lasting and that will improve your chances for success.

Here are some things you’ll want to incorporate into your habit creation methodology:

Identify the behaviour you want to establish. When you make a firm and calculated decision about a type of behaviour that will become a good habit and incorporated into your daily life, you’ll set in motion the actions that are necessary to achieve it.

For example, if you want to develop a habit of exercising each morning, you might set the alarm clock earlier than usual, have your exercise clothes ready to slip in to and have planned where you’ll go and what type of exercises you’ll perform.

Use the visualization technique. When you visualize your new habit taking place, you’ll be reinforcing its value in your life. Imagine acting as if your habit is already established – that will serve to ingrain the habit in your sub-conscious mind and help it to become automatic.

The act of visualization is used in many methodologies to help a person progress in what they want to accomplish. Athletes use visualization to help them reach goals they set for themselves and future executives are taught to imagine themselves in the seat of power within a company.

Don’t make excuses. As your new habit is in its early stages of formation, it’s important that you don’t make excuses or rationalize why you should break from it – even temporarily. That can put you on a downward spiral of continually finding excuses why you can’t or shouldn’t perpetuate the new habit.

For example, many people find excuses not to exercise. “I’ve had a tiresome day,” or “I’m sore and exhausted,” or “I don’t have time.” Work through these negative excuses and find a way to develop the discipline necessary to see any good habit or behaviour pattern through to fruition.

Tell friends, family and co-workers about your new habit. Most of the ones you tell will be happy about the changes you’re attempting to make and will encourage and help you through the low points. There will be some who consciously or subconsciously try to thwart your efforts.

Don’t listen or pay attention to those who are trying to fill your mind with negativity so you’ll fail. Keep focused on the outcome you want to happen and surround yourself with those who encourage you rather than put you down.

Repeat positive affirmations. Affirmations are extremely valuable in creating new and lasting habits and will decrease the time it takes to make the habit stick.

An example of a positive affirmation is, “I will exercise each day after work.” Repeating that affirmation all day in your mind will push the negative attitude to the back and firmly ensconce your new habit in the forefront.

Make a commitment to success. Unless you have the willpower to persist in the quest to create a new and better behaviour for yourself, you’ll feel uncomfortable and will likely quit before giving it a chance to succeed.

Without a strong commitment to change, you’ll be more susceptible to the negative thoughts and pull from your old habits to regress and ruin everything you’ve been working for.

Reward yourself. The final part of the habit changing loop is to reward yourself. This reinforces and reaffirms the new behaviour patterns you’re trying to make a part of your life.

Positive changes in your life will begin to occur when you get used to the rewards and the good consequences of what happens when you change for the better.

After your new habit has found a place in your daily routine, you’ll be less apt to procrastinate about actually doing the positive actions in your life that will get things done and lead you to the success you desire.

Why Good Habits Fail

Remember in Part One how there is a loop present in every habit. This includes the trigger, the behaviour and the reward. When you’re attempting to create a new habit, it’s extremely important that the loop is kept intact.

For example, if your alarm clock is the trigger that cues you to get up and exercise in the morning, it’s important that you react to that cue in the way that will lead you to performing the exercise. That will lead you to the ultimate reward which is becoming healthier and/or losing weight and becoming toned and fit.

Breaking the loop doesn’t necessarily need to be a failure. You can think of it as simply increasing the time it will take you to reach your goal or to form the habit. It’s necessary that you resume the loop in its entirety as quickly as possible. Letting too much time pass before you resume the habit formation can cause you to continue with the bad habit pattern and abandon the new and better habit.

It’s important that you take every part of the habit loop seriously. Minimizing any one of the steps can cause failure after failure. Have the triggers firmly in place that lead to a behaviour that you’re consistent in performing and that provides a reward that you enjoy and benefit from.

One Step Forward - Two Steps Back

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you regress to an old habit or don’t stick to a new one at first. It takes time to create and develop a new habit so that it will be reinforced to the point that it becomes second nature to you.

Using the tools presented here, you should be able to ultimately cement the habits that are going to change your life for the better. The next chapter in “21-Day Habit Creation” deals with how to make the good habits stick. You’ll learn how to experiment with the rewards you allow yourself and how to create cues that will eventually automate the new habit.

Main Learning Points of Part Two

How to Create New Habits

The creation of new habits that will serve you better in life involves a commitment and some time and effort. It’s not always easy to let go or to put in place a new habit that might be contrary to what you’ve been used to, but as you create the habits that will take you to the top, you’ll begin to think of more ways to change for the better.

Here are some thoughts from Part 2 you’ll want to remember:

There are certain “ingredients” found in the creation of every new habit. Whether your new habit is a good or bad one, you can usually identify the elements, just as you can in a gourmet dish that’s gone wrong – or created to perfection.
First, identify the habit you want to create. Identifying a specific habit helps you to focus on all of the “ingredients” you want your new habit to have. For example, if you want to stop procrastinating, you might identify the ingredients of persistence and determination.
Visualization is a main part of creating a new habit. It’s easy to act successful if you visualize yourself doing it. When you visualize yourself as doing everything that a non-smoker can do (climbing a mountain or running in a marathon), it’s less of a challenge to put down that cigarette.
Make a commitment to change. If you’re not committed, you won’t be successful in creating a new and better habit. It’s as simple as that. Anyone who has ever succeeded in life has made a stark commitment that he or she will follow through with whatever it takes to get the job done.
Rewards are important. Unless you reap some rewards of the commitment and effort to change or create new habits, you’ll quickly tire of the process and go back to your old ways. Be sure that you figure rewards into the challenge of creating new habits.
Don’t break any part of the habit loop. All three portions of a habit loop – triggers, behaviour and rewards – are equally important in achieving success. If one part of the loop is broken at any time in the creation of the habit, you risk either increasing the time it takes to reach your goal or abandoning it altogether.

Don’t forget to share with me what you discovered during this month and let me know if I may share it within this newsletter next month.