How to Form Good Habits
How do you adopt a good habit?
Start by choosing the habit that you feel will help either decrease your stress or improve your lifestyle the most. Then start reprogramming and brainwashing yourself by feeding yourself good information about that subject. Adding a good habit is really a mind-game until it becomes entrenched into your daily routine.
It’s all about the habit and not about the activity. The key is to start with your thoughts. It may sound strange but you want to brainwash yourself by immersing yourself with inputs about the good habit that you want to form . Actively focus on it. You want to provide yourself with consistent motivation and then slowly form the habit so that it becomes ingrained into the daily fabric of your life.
Most people join a gym, buy the best gym gear, go for a week, and never go again, meanwhile
paying the membership fee with hopes of going back. To avoid this, you need more than just a financial outlay. You need books, podcasts, and motivational media. You want to find friends who also want or already have these good habits. This support will help you overcome bad days when you're not feeling motivated. On bad days, you still want to exercise, just go easy on yourself.
Follow this approach to form any good habit. Pick one habit and immerse yourself. Even if you fail by not doing the habit on a certain day, don’t fail to listen, read, or watch something about the subject. These inputs will reprogram your brain and get you back on track again.
When you are working on forming a good habit, try to develop a reward system. For example if you meditate for a week straight, then go buy yourself some comfy socks or slippers. Or if you stick to your financial budget for a week, treat yourself to a date night – but budget for it of course.
Habits are just daily goals. So, make sure you set realistic goals for yourself. Try to make your daily goals so ridiculously small in the beginning that you just can’t fail. Then as you develop your routine just add a little more stretch to the goal each week. Remember, you’re in this for the long run.
If you have a lapse - no biggie - it’s okay and extremely normal. Practice self-forgiveness. But keep feeding your brain good inputs by continued immersion and then get back on track. If you need to, start back at the beginning with a very small goal. Recognize that personal change is difficult so go easy on yourself, forgive yourself, but whatever you do, don’t give up on yourself.
I really hope you can form great habits one-at-a-time and that it will improve your work life and your personal life. Remember that a healthy lifestyle means lower stress too. However, if you’re really feeling overwhelmed, please get help from a mental health professional.
If you are a leader then honing your leadership skills improves your effectiveness and reduces stress. Learn how at Tools for the Trenches.
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