Creating Habits That Stick
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Start at the start.
Instead of focusing on the end goal, like āI want to lose weight,ā focus on how youāll start.
Example:Ā Iāll pack a healthy lunch to work three times a week.
āOptimize for the starting line, not the finish line.ā
āĀ James Clear, author of New York Times best-sellerĀ Atomic Habits
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Take baby steps.
Start with small goals and build on them over time to keep from feeling overwhelmed and giving up.
Example:Ā Iām going to include a vegetable with every meal (rather than trying to radically overhaul my entire diet right from the start).
āā¦if you try to control or change too many things at once, you may exhaust yourself completely. This failure says nothing about your virtueājust about the nature of willpower itself.ā
āĀ Ā Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist and Stanford lecturer, from her best-selling bookĀ The Willpower Instinct
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Get down to the details.
Setting specific, detailed goals improves your chances for success.
Example:Ā Iām going for a 30-minute walk right after work every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
āGoal-setting theory shows across hundreds of studies that challenging, specific, and concrete goals are powerful motivators and boost success in goal pursuitā¦ā
ā Bettina Hƶchli, Adrian BrĆ¼gger, and Claude Messner, authors of a study published in theĀ National Library of Medicine
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Try meditation.
A growing body of research shows regular meditation can help people achieve their goals, including things like losing weight or staying sober.
Example:Ā Iām going to carve out 5 minutes, three times a week, to sit still, close my eyes, and simply focus on my breath.
āMeditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.ā
āĀ Ajahn Brahm, popular Buddhist teacher and meditation expert
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Donāt give up.Ā
Remember that youāll have days where you fail, days where you want to quit, days where you feel your goal isnāt worth all this effort. When those days come, be kind to yourself, reflect on the progress youāve already made, and start again the next day.
Example:Ā I overate at the party, but instead of beating myself up about it, Iāll start tomorrow with a healthy, protein-rich breakfast.
āAs long as we keep pushing forward, weāll keep improving ourselves. Itās okay if weāre not the best at the moment because the secret to progress and continuous growth lies in persistence.ā
āĀ Jay Shetty, best-selling author and award-winning podcast host
