How To Make a Habit Stick!

Have you ever found it hard to stick to a new habit?

With the full array of great tips, tricks and techniques on offer to encourage us to become healthy and happy individuals, it can be challenging choosing one and making it stick long enough to see the benefits! I can vouch for this with my gym story! When I started at the gym (first time ever in a gym) in December, it was with great enthusiasm. After about a month, the motivation to keep going waned considerably and I started to look for any excuse to bail, despite knowing it was good for me. Before long, I could hear myself saying how much I hated the gym, weighed down with the disappointment I felt with myself, at once again not sticking with something long enough to see any real benefits. What kept me going? My husband could sense that I was close to quitting and helped me turn my belief around. He suggested that rather than resenting the time I spent at the gym, to view it differently and look at it as my hour of power - an hour just for me to focus on myself. So with some new ear phones, some favourite itunes downloaded and a new attitude, I became determined to stick it out and ...can now say I have been going for 7 months and although I don't love it, I do really like it. It has become a part of my weekly routine and I look forward to the small rewards I treat myself to - like the delicious protein smoothie at the end of it! Whatever your new habit might be ...exercising, meditating, journaling, writing a daily gratitude list, time spent on a project, studying ...you are going to need to stick with it long enough to see the real benefits. As the great Jim Rohn said 'Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced daily.'

Here are 5 Tips to Make Your New Habit Stick! Remember WHY you started in the first place. Your WHY will drive you in the moments when you feel low and feel like quitting. Focus on the benefits Keep your eye on the prize! Focus on your outcome and how great you are going to feel! Keep it on the low to begin with If you are starting walking daily for exercise for example, don't start out by walking 10 km. You may begin with a 1km walk. Begin with small steps and increase it as you feel comfortable. Team it up with something you love! Think of something you really enjoy and team it up with your new habit! For example, I listen to empowering audio tracks in my headphones at the gym sometimes. They really inspire me. If you are wanting to start a gratitude practice perhaps do it while relaxing with your favourite drink. Make it a part of your routine. Schedule it in, like everything else. That way it becomes non-negotiable. Don't make it a 'I'll do it if I have time' activity.