Life hacking: How to make a good habit
LOOKING FOR SIMPLE AND NOT VERY WAYS TO IMPROVE LIFE AND EXPLAINwhy they work. Today we understand how to develop good habits.
According to researchers from Duke University in the US, about 40% of our daily activities are habits. It is from them that our life is built. Our health, career and life in general depend on how productive and useful they are. Translate useful lessons into the category of familiar and not straining is not so easy, but there are several techniques that will help to succeed.
Stanford University professor BJ Fogg introduced the concept of "motivational wave" and suggested starting with the simplest habits. He was referring to the fact that motivation has its own "tides" and "ebbs": it appears and is declining. Willpower must be trained like muscles. So if you feel bad at the thought of fifty push-ups, do five. If you find it difficult to tune in for an hour jogging in the park, start with ten minutes - this is better than nothing.
Do not pursue an instant result, where it is more important to progress gradually. It is very easy to achieve the first successes, the main thing to remember is that staying at the same level means taking a step back. It makes no sense to immediately produce amazing results in everyday lesson, it is necessary to gradually increase standards. You will need less effort on yourself, because the most difficult thing is to start.
Being patient is probably a key habit-making skill.
Another useful tip is to break the habit into parts. For example, you set the task to read every day ten pages of a book in French. If ten pages are hard for you, read five pages twice a day, in the morning for coffee and in the evening before bedtime. If you progress every day by 1%, you will reach the goal in two or three months. The main thing is not to lose the achieved results.
If suddenly something has gone wrong and you have strayed from the intended plan - do not worry and immediately return to the previous regime. You must be prepared for failure, but you do not need to tune in to them. "People often try, but cannot change daily habits, such as eating habits or physical exercise. Often failures are due to time and place, which provoke repetition of habitual reactions,” explains psychologist David Neil. that you are not aware of health problems, but about the strength of circumstances that trigger habitual signals. Habits force us to do what we have always done, despite the desire to live differently. "
Try to determine what matters or events may change your everyday life in the near future (for example, you are going on a business trip). Think about how you can not deviate from the plan in the changed conditions. And even if you leave, try not to quit the habit that has been developed for so long, and return to the regime as soon as you can.
Well and the main thing - have patience. The ability to be patient is perhaps the key skill in developing a habit. Keep the pace you are able to endure. New habits can be given very easily at the beginning, but the farther, the more difficult it will be to go to a new level. Patience determines success.
Photo: 1, 2 via Shutterstock
The material was first published on the site Look At Me