“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun

Consistency is key when it comes to developing healthy habits and routines. That’s why it’s so important to set realistic goals and expectations for yourself so that you can consistently meet them. When you set goals that are so high you’re not able to reach them, you may feel defeated and let go of that habit completely. Start small to build confidence in your ability to be consistent and create healthy habits and behaviors. 

First things first: what is a habit? 

A habit is defined as “an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.” This means that the behavior is so ingrained in your brain and routine that you don’t need to think twice about it. 

How do you create a habit? 

Habits need to be formed and developed, and the earlier they’re formed, the easier it is to stick to it. Take brushing your teeth, for example. When you’re a kid, you need to learn how to brush your teeth, be reminded to brush your teeth, and often, do things to make it more fun, like making a game out of it or listening to a song while brushing so the time goes by faster. As you get older, it becomes second nature and you don’t really think twice about it. It’s something that you just do because it’s become a part of your daily routine. 

Incorporate a new habit into an existing routine. 

Morning and nighttime routines are great times to incorporate a new habit into your life. If you’re looking to develop a habit of mindfulness, for example, begin by attaching that habit to an existing habit to help it stick – preferably a habit you enjoy. If one of the first things you do when you wake up is have a cup of coffee, you can turn that habit into a mindfulness practice. Rather than taking your cup of coffee to go, or chugging it while getting ready, set aside five minutes each morning to have your coffee while sitting down, being present with yourself, and setting an intention for the day. 

Add an element of fun to make a habit stick 

If finding time or motivation to exercise and move your body feels like a challenge, find a form of exercise that feels fun. Perhaps going to the gym is not your jam, and you find it difficult to motivate yourself to go. In that case, switch it up! Maybe there’s a dance class that you can take every week that you’d actually look forward to doing, or maybe you can make plans with friends to do something active like go on a walk (a perfect way to move your body and catch up with friends – two things that do wonders for your mental health).  

Start small and build up to your goal. 

Think about how many people make a new years resolution to go to the gym, but so often, let go of that goal shortly after. A way to mitigate this trend of starting habits only to break them is to rework them so that they fit naturally into your daily life. If you set a goal to go to the gym five days a week, but you soon realize that it’s not fitting in naturally to your daily life, rework that goal so that it’s more likely to become a doable habit. 

Maybe you can go to the gym a few times a week but find that going on short walks throughout the day, or stretching for a few minutes in the morning and night is something that you can more consistently do. Then, once you show yourself that you can be consistent with those more doable habits, it shows yourself that you can stick to those more challenging habits too. 

Reward yourself for sticking to your healthy habits. 

Adults, after all, are just big kids. Sometimes we need a bit of motivation when we’re starting something new that feels challenging. 

Now let’s take about breaking those unhealthy habits that are affecting you in a negative way. 

Old habits are hard to break, in part, because they are tied to our identity and because change is inherently difficult.

Just like developing a new habit, changing habits you’ve had for years can be hard — but not impossible.

There are a few different ways to approach changing a habit, and different ways work for different people. 

Let’s say that you’d like to break your habit of scrolling on social media constantly. Here are three ways to approach breaking that pattern and what that process could look like. 

Method #1: Cold Turkey 

You might be familiar with the term “cold turkey,” which signifies breaking a habit suddenly and abruptly. If you were to cut out social media cold turkey, it would mean that you delete all of your social media apps all at once and don’t even give yourself an option to scroll at all. 

Another example of quitting a habit cold turkey could be giving up junk food and throwing out all the junk food in your house and completely cutting it out. 

Method #2: Slow and steady 

If you were to break these habits in a slow and steady method, that could mean that you could set aside fifteen minutes every day to scroll on social media. Rather than completely cutting yourself off, you’re giving yourself parameters on when to engage in those habits. 

Method #3: Crowd Out vs Cut Out

This method involves breaking a habit by replacing it with a new, healthier habit. For example, to help break a nighttime TV habit, begin by adding in one hour of reading a night. To break a fast-food habit, begin by adding in one home-cooked meal per week. This way, you’re simultaneously breaking a habit while developing a healthy habit. 

What habits are you looking to create or let go of? Let me know in the comments below, and share any techniques that have worked well for you!