MAKING SIMPLE HABITS THAT STICK

Lately, I have really been working to create some better habits in my life. Simple changes that I know will have long term payoffs. But of course making new habits is pretty difficult. We all have a reluctance to change. We get set in our ways.

However that doesn't have to be the case. I recently read a great book called Making Habits, Breaking Habits, by Jeremy Dean, that explained that research studies have proven it takes between 60-66 days for a new habit to really "stick" and become automatic.

In the short run, this means we fail to cultivate really good habits because we fail to make it through the trial period of those 60-ish days. We try things a week or two, and then they drop off our radars because they never became automatic. It is only when habits become automatic that we can really become successful.


Lets say you drank eight glasses of water a day for 60 days, that habit would be automatic, and would practically serve you the rest of your days. You would barely have to think about it, as you reap the benefits of drinking water each day.

I found this book to be really interesting because setting habits is as simple as making it through those 60 days. Once you have a mark to shoot for, I think more people will make it through that trial, habit-forming period.

I know in my case, I have been trying to write and read more this year, and so I have been making those priorities into good habits. That means that I set aside time for each of those activities each day. I wouldn't say that those habits have been automatic, yet, the truth is some days I still have to force myself to put words on the page, or some days I don't feel like reading much, but the goal is to stick with the habits! Making a little progress with our habits each day adds up. The adage "Little and often makes much" is true.

Sometimes even a simple change in behavior can help to build good habits, as well. At the beginning of the year, I felt like I wasn't reading as much (in old school, paper form), and I wanted to change that. So, I made a point to get to the library, which was only a short distance removed from my natural commute to work, to pick up a few new books each week. This little change in my behavior and routine helped me to really start reading more (sorry but Reddit, Facebook, Twiter, and BuzzFeed do not count).

I'm not trying to be pretentious here with reading choices, those websites can be fun in moderation, but many recent studies show that reading a book (yes, a physical book) has all kinds of cognitive benefits, including increased memory, better critical thinking skills, and higher levels of focus. I don't know about you, but I want some of those benefits, and it all starts with forming those new habits.

In the end, habits aren't really supposed to be easy to form. They take work and dedication. If good habits were easy, we'd all have a lot more of them, and fewer failed New Year's resolutions and parts of ourselves we want to change. But, the truth is, if one focuses in on what is truly important, and makes it a priority, they will soon create better, sustainable habits that serve them, and enrich their lives.