Great, Sure Ways to Make Your New Habits Stick

Last week we talked about how to break the habits that are holding you back. You have goals that, up until now, have been difficult to attain. Yes, the paradigms, beliefs, and way of thinking may have gotten the better of you.

Essential elements for success are believing in yourself that you can do it – mindset, using your imagination to envision who you will be once the goal is achieved, and putting together a supporting structure.

Now that your foundation is set for success, how do you go about it? So how do you make your new habits stick?

Great, sure ways to make your new habits stick is by applying proven and tested strategies that work. In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits, he offers more examples than the ones I offer here.

Make a Date with Your New Habit

You set the intention, verbally telling yourself and or others what you will do when. You put it on your calendar as an actionable item. For instance, affirming if you want to start a new exercise habit. “During the week, I will exercise for at least 15 minutes on (days) at (time) in (place).

By having an implementation statement, then there is clarity on what you will do, when, and where. There is no wiggle room, you are not leaving it up to chance that you will do it. You simply count on your willingness to act on it. Your mindset, vision, and structure of support help you stay focused to succeed.

Attach the Habit to a Common Practice

You have habits that you do daily as part of your routine, so connect the new habit to something you already do as part of your daily schedule. You get up every morning, brush your teeth, take a shower, and the list of everyday activities is limitless.

Habit Stacking takes advantage of the natural energy that comes from one behavior and leads you to the next. Suppose your goal is to be more grateful. Then you can stack your gratitude practice with something that often happens in your day. “Every time I get a text, I will think of something I am grateful for before I answer it.”

What you are doing is you are conditioning yourself to follow a certain cue to install the new habit.

Keeping Score ⁄ Track

Making a scorecard and having it visible and fun is a way of maintaining the momentum to ensure you keep going. Create a simple scorecard where you will keep tabs on your accomplishment. Place the scorecard in a place that is easily visible and think of a reward you will attain after completing milestones.

Identify something you want; the want is up to you on what motivates you. I heard of a woman who paid herself every time she reached a weight loss milestone. Once she reached her desired weight, she took the money to buy herself a party dress, then celebrated with her friends.

What you want can be simple; if you like social media and want to spend less time on it (break a habit) and use it as a reward for completing the habit you want to gain. “After I get up, I will walk over to the couch to meditate for at least 10 minutes, and after I meditate, I will check my Instagram.

You are consciously keeping score and will not get your reward (Instagram) until you complete the habit you are building.

My Testimonial

When I wanted to start a meditation practice, I set the goal that I would sit silently for at least 10 minutes and learn to meditate. I said, “I am meditating for at least 10 minutes first thing in the morning on my living room couch”. I assigned a special quiet place that I knew would not have a lot of foot traffic in the morning.

I made a date with meditation, affirming clearly (implementation statement) when, where, and for how long it was going to be done. I stacked the habit of getting up every morning; my reward was my cup of coffee. I love coffee, once I meditate, I enjoy the smell and taste of my morning drink :-).

Implementing Success

I used these three tools for the success of my meditation practice which I’ve now maintained for more than 6 years. I’ve added fun milestones along the way to treat myself to things I enjoy; for instance, once I did it consecutively for 30 days, I purchased a water feature that sits close to where I meditate. This makes my time meditating even more enjoyable as I hear the trickle of water flow.

Building new habits can be easier than you think or have experienced in the past. Decide that you for your mindset, vision, and supporting structure. Then follow through by affirming clearly (out loud, in writing, sharing with others) the practice you are adding to your life. Find a way to stack it to something you already do, and then have fun rewarding yourself as you successfully become the person you want to be.