In the journey of wellness, it is important to make positive changes. But many people start a new habit but fall off the wagon very soon; the change does not last. How to make a lasting change become the key to success in your healthy lifestyle. If you are like most people struggling to make the change that sticks, read my three tips for making changes that stick based on the latest scientific research about behaviour change.
Deciding is the first step. When you make a decision, you want to make the change, let’s say you want to eat healthily; at the same time, you are deciding about your level of commitment too. Subconsciously, your brain’s neurons send and receive electrical signals to communicate with each other in the nervous system and other types of cells in the body. The brain tells your body how to react. When you decide and commit to eating healthily, your choice for your meals is healthy food. Verbally deciding or even writing down what you decide on a piece of paper or journal can surely help you make it happen. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”block” ihc_mb_who=”unreg” ihc_mb_template=”3″ ]
Next, keep it simple. Complexity scares people away. Start easy. That’s the key. The latest science shows us it’s essential to start easily if we want to create new habits that last. B.J Fogg, the author of the book “Tiny Habit” is one of the world’s leading behaviour change scientists; he often tells a fantastic story about how he incorporates flossing his teeth into a habit by starting with just one tooth. He turned it into a task that took hardly any effort. After finishing one tooth, he found he naturally wanted to do another, and then another, and another. After a month, he discovered that he was automatically flossing all of his teeth twice a day. It had become a new habit.
Many research studies showed that if we want behaviours to become habitual and automatic, they should take little mental or physical effort. The easier you make a behaviour, the less willpower you require to do it. Depending on the willpower to do it is very energy-consuming, and you’re less likely to continue over time. You feel the pain of the change when you depend on your willpower. That’s why many people can’t sustain themselves in the long term. Creating a habit should be fun and easy enough for you to complete without much effort, and you start feeling the benefit fast. This technique is effective and simple.
Now, it’s time to connect one new activity to an existing habit. All behaviour change researchers recommended connecting them to existing habits. Take this as an example; you want to start five minutes of stretching. You can incorporate this new activity into your daily routine. You tell yourself, “While waiting for my kettle’s on to make my cup of hot drink in the morning, I will do 5 minutes of stretching.” You hook up this new habit to your existing daily routine.
You can consider some of the transition moments in your day. For example: When you return from your office, you want to take five deep breaths before you get into your house. Or do you drive your kids to school and you come back home, you want to do yoga? The more important thing is you try to stick your new activity to your existing habit; over time, it becomes a part of your daily routine.
As we all have tight schedules nowadays, you must not need to find extra time in your day to fit in the new activity. You’re much more likely to succeed. If you find out the time slot you try doesn’t work, don’t beat yourself up. Find another slot that may work better. Keep experimenting with it. Treat this as a discovery journey. You may be surprised you get to know yourself better!
Want to discover more tips on how to improve your energy and health? Your healthy life is just a click away at https://www.joyce-wong.com/wellnessmasterclass. You can access it anywhere, anytime, at your own pace. Like it? That’s more! Sign up now, and you’ll be granted one-year complimentary membership in my Wellness Inner Circle and one hour 1-1 coaching session with me.
You deserve to feel great and live a vibrant life. See you there![/ihc-hide-content]
