Learn to Form New and Good Habits
Small steps for lasting change
Our lives are defined by habits. Whether good or bad, each of us has a daily routine that we consistently follow. Unfortunately, many of our daily habits can be defined as bad. One way to “eradicate” these habits from our lives is to replace them with good habits. Many people suddenly decide one day that they need to change their lives and tend to try to do this with radical moves. From my experience, this can work in the first few days, but then they will revert to their old habits and realize that nothing has changed. This is what I call an unproductive attempt and a waste of time and energy.
The key is to try to change a little at a time. For example, the latest change I made in my life is to wake up an hour earlier every day. You can try it too. You can start by setting your alarm an hour earlier and keep it like that for a week. Then, because we are, by definition, as human beings, resistant to change, you will go back to your old wake-up time. A better way that worked for me is to set your alarm one minute earlier each day. After two months, you will be waking up an hour earlier and won’t even notice the change. It’s true, it takes longer, but this approach gives you a better chance of success.
This approach can work for almost anything. If you exercise for half an hour each day and want to increase the time to an hour, then add one minute each day. After a month, you will reach your goal with minimal resistance from your body or mind. Slow change eliminates the biggest barrier that stops us from being who we want to be: fear.
This method of change is slow but very powerful. Think about all you can achieve if you continuously improve your daily habits little by little. Change itself is important because it will create the momentum you need to perpetuate it positively. In no time, you will notice that you will achieve your goals without any headaches.
What one-minute change can you start making tomorrow in your life?
