How to make a new habit stick

Consciously or not – habits happen. But bad habits seem to form quickly, and good habits seem to take forever to become ‘automatic’.

In fact, good habits take an average of about 66 days to form – and the process can take longer when the habit is complex.

But there’s a reason they call it ‘building’ a habit. It’s best to focus on small wins and ‘build’ toward positive and lasting change.

Benefits of developing good habits

Good habits save energy

Think about washing your hands, brushing your teeth or tying your shoes. If you had to learn how to do each of these things again each morning you’d be exhausted before you left the house! Good habits save mental energy and makes healthy patterns feel easy.

Good habits make you consistent

Relying on inspiration is a short-term strategy and changing the way you live takes a long time. Good habits make it easier to stay consistent when that feeling of motivation just isn’t there – making it much easier to stay on track with your goals.

Good habits let you live ‘by design’

Your habits are what you do every day, so in a way, they point at the kind of life you want and the person you want to be. Thinking of your habits as building blocks, making small choices each day lets you design the life you want to live.

Understanding how habits are formed

James Clear, author of the #1 New York Time bestselling book, Atomic Habits, understands how to make habits stick better than most.

He breaks habits down into four parts:

• Cue: The thing that ‘triggers’ your behaviour.
• Craving: The desire for the reward of performing the habit.
• Response: The act of performing the habit.
• Reward: The after effect of performing the habit, i.e. your ‘payoff’.

And he outlines that good habits become much easier to form when we arrange these four parts in a particular way. Let’s use ‘drinking more water’ as an example:

• The cue can be made obvious by having water next to your bed.
• Drinking the water can be made attractive by being kept cold in a bottle.
• The response is the act of drinking that water.
• The reward is the feeling of starting the day off hydrated and on the right foot!
  

Tips for creating the habits you want

Start small and build

Smaller steps make it easier to stay on track, so start with the smallest and simplest version of your goal. In most cases, much bigger goals like ‘get fit’ can be broken down into many smaller habits (like drinking water in the morning).

Focus on process

It’s easy to get overwhelmed on the way to a big goal, so focus on getting your process right and take care to make your new habits obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying. Concentrate on this route and the results will come with time.

Be gentle with yourself

We all miss days occasionally, and there’s no benefit in being mean to yourself if you miss a gym session or fall short on your new habit. The skill of ‘getting back on track’ is as important as any other when it comes to making progress.

Start making progress today with Virgin Active

If you’re looking for help in making a lifestyle change and forming better habits, our staff are able to set you up with a Virgin Active Personal Trainer to support you in your journey. We also offer classes such as Reformer Recovery, Yoga, and Sound Bath that are dedicated to offering your mind and body the rest and pause it deserves.

Find out more and book a free tour today.