Making New Habits
10 Tips for Making Positive Changes & Breaking Old Habits
Here are some strategies that work for making new & breaking old habits - whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking, watch less tv, go back to school, or save money.
Making new habits and breaking old habits requires a daily commitment. Remember that your new commitment to making new habits may need to be revisited every hour, not just every day!
These 10 tips for making new habits and breaking old ones will become part of daily life (though incorporating them may be torture to begin with!). That's why so many New Year's Resolutions are dismissed by the end of January: losing weight, quitting smoking, watching less tv, or going back to school are all huge life changes that require dedication and self-discipline.
Making new habits and breaking old habits can involve anything from a serious addiction to heroin to cutting down on negative thinking. When you're making new habits, keep in mind that it gets easier as time passes. Once you get over the initial hump of incorporating new and breaking old habits, you'll love your new life!
10 tips for making new habits and breaking old habits:
- Visualize success. Picture yourself where you want to be: in a loving relationship, saving more money, enjoying a healthier body, or working towards a college degree. When you're making new habits, visualize yourself completing the steps necessary to get there. Enjoy the feelings of success, happiness, and accomplishment when you're breaking old habits.
- Explore your discomfort. Why haven't you been able to make this change? Are you more comfortable feeling fat, poor, or unhealthy? Perhaps being thin or achieving your goals is frightening. When you're breaking old habits, figure out why you're resisting this change in your life. Maybe you're just being lazy and need self-discipline, or maybe something deeper is happening in your psyche. Spend some quiet time meditating, praying, or writing to uncover your resistance.
- Take one step at a time. If a college degree is your goal, start small. Get an application. Fill it out. Write the essay or take the tests required for acceptance. Don't worry about what classes to take, what books you need, or how much it costs. Take it one step at a time when you're making new habits and breaking old habits.
- Make symbolic changes. Get a new haircut. Sit at a different spot at the dinner table, or in your lunch or staff room. Move the furniture around. Grow or shave your beard. Get new glasses. Do something little – and fun! – to symbolize the bigger change you want to make in your life. Breaking old habits requires some symbolic changes!
- Celebrate your progress. When you get that college application, take five Pilates classes in a row, or find a new job – celebrate it! Part of making new habits is enjoying the small steps you've taken, and getting excited for the larger ones to come.
- Be aware of your actions. Make sure your behaviors are in line with your goals when you're breaking old habits. If you want to lose weight, think twice before you eat the whole banana split. If you want a new job, polish your resume instead of watching tv for three hours. Focus your energy on making new habits.
- Focus on the end result. This may be helpful or overwhelming, depending on your personality. It may help to remember why you're breaking old habits: your specific job, target weight, or clean smoke-free lungs. Let your mind settle on your goals daily when you're making new habits.
- Monitor your thoughts. Get rid of "all or nothing" thinking. For instance, your new commitment to healthy eating isn't blown if you eat a couple of cookies. You won't flunk out of college if you earn a C on a test. You'll reach your goal more quickly and happily if you let yourself be human. When you slip up in breaking old habits, use your experience to be stronger and more commited in the long run.
- Join a formal support system. If you want to exercise more, buy a Pilates or Yoga session pass. Make it a goal to not only go to all the classes, but to make a friend there. If a college degree is your goal, make an appointment with an admissions advisor or career counselor to help you navigate the beginning steps. If you can't lose weight on your own, join LA Weight Loss or Jenny Craig – or enlist the support of a friend. When you're making new habits you need friends!
- Nurture your mind, body, and soul. When you're making new habits get enough sleep. Eat nutritiously. Spend time with yourself, with God, with nature. Practice peace and well-being, especially when you're breaking old habits. Use your body for work, and enjoy it with pleasure. Take deep breaths. Laugh.
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