Building good habits and sticking to them is going to be easier with our tips and advice
Building sustainable and good habits is one of the most important things you can do for yourself; it’s the time and effort you put into yourself that makes the struggle worth it.
If you’re one of those people that struggles to sustain habits in the long run, here are some great tips and advice to help you stick to good habits:
Understand the difference between habits and routines
A routine is something that you stick to day in and day out, performing many of the same tasks consistently. It’s important that you recognize the key difference between random habits and a routine, which is essentially awareness and intention.
Habits are things you pick up on and do without much thought, and many habits can be a part of your routine too. However, a routine is something that is more thought out and planned to serve a purpose and give your life structure, even if it’s come to feel like second nature.
Start out small when trying to make lasting changes
The trick with habit building is starting out small. When you address smaller changes and habits, you’re likelier to stick to them in the long run. Identify habits that you want to work on the most, work to change those, and build your way up.
Let’s say you want to change your diet to something healthier; you’re likelier to get bored, inconsistent, and even overwhelmed. Start by eliminating junk food, sugar, and other harmful items from your diet, and make small swaps.
Replace bad habits with good habits instead of creating a void
Swaps is a good segue into this next point: don’t ditch habits straight away. Going cold turkey and ditching a habit completely can be the quickest road to failure for many people for the simple reason that you create a void.
Instead of ditching a habit completely, you should look for alternatives that are positive and replacing them with good habits. If you’re ditching smoking, you should replace that with something that will help you cope with the urge without leading you down a dangerous path like sugar addiction, binge eating, or even alcoholism. Add more exercise and sweat it out any time you want to smoke, go for a walk, journal, clean, or do anything productive.
Recognize and monitor your triggers and cues carefully
Part of the reason why we resort to bad habits and ditch good habits is that we get triggered and feel sensitive to different issues. Whether you’re sensitive to emotional issues, or something in your routine like your work schedule, you might feel helpless and frustrated, falling off track as a result of that. Recognizing and identifying triggers will help you overcome them and stop yourself from sabotaging or derailing those habits.
Remember that consistency is always key when it comes to building and breaking habits. Even if you feel overwhelmed, the trick is to get back up and right to it each time.
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