How to get into the habit in 30 days?
We all know how difficult it is to stick with certain resolutions. We often want to get ourselves into certain habits, but we usually say in the end "I’ll run every day," "I‘ll stop smoking" and "I’ll buy a pool pass and I'll go there regularly."
In the beginning we are firm in the resolutions, but later..? Well, then it's different. Usually, we find various excuses that keep us away from continuing the activities that we planned a few days ago.
So what should be done to effectively and permanently get into the habit, which, even after a few or a dozen or so days, will continue to become an integral part of our lives? I’ll describe here the concept pioneered by Steve Pavlina, the author of the well-known personal development blog. The concept is about introducing a 30-day trial, during which we will "test" our new habit.
The reason why people don’t usually manage to continue with the new habit is that making such a big change in their lives is a big nut to crack. Introducing something new every day and deciding that tomorrow it’s going to be a part of our life may seem a little overwhelming, especially since we are still accustomed to the old habit.
But when we decide that it’ll only be a 30-day trial and nothing more, this overwhelming feeling will disappear. Decide that for the next 30 days you will do physical exercises every day. Only for one month, then you can stop doing it having clean conscience and lie on the couch all day long. Decide that for 30 days you won’t turn on your TV. After this period, you can sit all day in front of the screen having no remorse. It's only a month, you can definitely make it.
This approach makes the start of forming a new habit much easier. What's more, after a few days it’ll be much easier for you to continue with the planned activities because you have to do them only for a month. You can even count the days left until the end of the trial.
Of course, we still need a bit of determination to stick with the habit through this month, however, it’s much easier than making a permanent change. Once you achieve your goal, what’s next?
- By the time you finish you will have formed a permanent habit. You’ll get used to the new routine and it’ll be something regular for you that, for example, you go to the gym in the evening.
- If your goal was to break a certain habit, you’ll get out of this habit within the 30 days. A month without watching TV won’t make you return to it as eagerly as before. You’ll get rid of the old habit.
- 30 days of success is a great motivation and a big boost of confidence to continue the habit. After this time you'll be able to see what it gives you. You will know whether this really is something I should keep on doing. You’ll be able to predict the effects as you stick with the new habit.
So remember. While getting yourself into the new habit, don’t decide on a permanent change. Decide on a 30-day trial and think to yourself that after this period you’ll give up on it. It’s important that you don’t plan this for not more than 30 days. In this concept, the idea is just to make the start easy and get through the 30 days until the habit grows on you. Then it is getting much easier. If you decide that the habit is valuable, it will be easier for you to stick with it.
Some useful advice on getting yourself into new habits:
- One habit at a time. It may seem that 30 days is a lot for just one change, however, putting yourself to the test with two or three new habits in the same period of time is much more difficult. It may turn out that after a month you won’t have any of them.
- Use gained time. If you want to get rid of the habit such as watching TV or smoking cigarettes always plan to do something instead of it. If you were just bored at the time when you usually used to watch TV, you would probably quickly come back to the old habit. Plan something interesting instead.
- Imagine a success. During the first few days, take a few minutes a day to imagine what it will be like once you form the new habit. Visualize how you look, how your life looks, and how your friends praise you. Feel what you’ll feel when you make it. It will be a source of motivation at the beginning of the process.
- Write it on a piece of paper. Take a pen and just write down what the new habit is all about. Such a statement is much stronger than a statement made only in your head. Make sure that the description of the habit is very accurate.
- Declare yourself also among friends. Tell your family and friends about the new habit you want to build up. A public statement is a powerful motivator.
In this way I have developed a lot of habits. From giving up on watching TV, through daily scheduling the next day, up to reading books an hour a day. Now it's your turn. Declare yourself in the comments section what new habit you want to develop, and let me know after 30 days how it went.
Here are some suggestions for the 30-day trial:
- Start getting up earlier
- Stop watching TV
- Read an hour a day
- Reduce the use of the internet by half
- Get back in touch with old friends you haven’t heard from for ages
- Daily have a conversation with a stranger.
- Get a swimming pool or gym pass
- Run every morning
- Stop smoking and drinking alcohol
- Take a half an hour a day to develop your interests
- Learn 10 new words in a foreign language on a daily basis.
Have you already tried to develop different habits, but none of them stayed with you for a long time? Perhaps my 5-day course How to change habits will help you. It is the art of developing valuable habits in a nutshell - a minimum of knowledge and a maximum of practice. Thanks to it, you will learn how to implement any, any habit you choose, and similarly how to get rid of those that do not serve you.
Share your suggestions in the comments section below! :)