How to Develop Good Habits

How To Develop Good Habits

Habits are formed by two very important elements, routine and consistency. According to Webster routine is defined as “a regular course of procedure….that may be often repeated. And consistency is defined as “agreement or harmony of parts or features to one another or a whole”.  These principles are true in all areas of life.  The process of developing personal habits can be accomplished by first identifying what goals we want to work on: It may be goals for our physical body, our emotional health, our thinking patterns,  or goals for our spiritual development. Whichever area you are wanting to develop good habits in, consistency and routine are key elements in being successful.

I. DEVELOP ROUTINE

Its more important to routinely do an activity than to worry about meeting the goal. For example, if you have a goal of doing aerobic exercises three times a week for 30 minutes each session, you may have good intentions, procrastination seems to take over. Developing  good routine needs two steps.

1. Just get started. Getting started is more important that finishing the goal. In the example of the 30 minute aerobic exercising, doing 5 minutes of exercise 3 times a week is a much less daunting task.

2. Once you are doing 5 minutes three times a week for one to two weeks, you can increase that to 10 minutes  3 times a week.

II. BE CONSISTENT

Now that you have started your habit and have developed a routine, it is important to be consistent in what you are doing. When we are consistent in developing habits, we are creating new neuropathways in our brain. I liken it to drawing a line in the sand with a stick. Every time I redraw the line again and again, the indentation in the sand becomes deeper. That is what happens when we are consistent in doing an activity. James Clear at www.Jamesclear.com , in one of his recent posts entitled “Transform Your Habits”  writes the following.

“There is a simple 3–step pattern that every habit follows. I call this pattern the 3 R’s of Habit Change” and it goes like this...

1. Reminder (the trigger that initiates the behavior)

2. Routine (the behavior itself; the action you take)

3. Reward (the benefit you gain from doing the behavior)

This sequence has been proven over and over again by behavioral psychology  researchers.”

Developing habits is a lifelong process.  Some say  to develop a positive routine and consistent habit one has to be repeated on a daily basis for  21 days. My own personal experience of doing something consistently for two or three weeks seems to really work in developing that particular habit.

Develop new habits this  year by practicing  routine and consistency, and you will find it easier  accomplish your goals. So be well and stay healthy.