Chapter 4: Forming Habits
Guide Chapter 3 was about the importance of patience and love for the journey.
If you missed it, click here to read it.
Now that you have built a foundation for setting goals and understanding nothing happens overnight, this chapter is about forming habits that will help you hold yourself accountable and make daily progress towards your goals.
In light of the pandemic the world is currently experiencing, Simply Unstoppable would like to take a moment to send love to all – we are all in this together, remember during this time you are not alone. If you may need someone to talk to, we are just an email away: [email protected]
We are all facing this crisis together, and we are all struggling right now with uncertainty and unexpected personal circumstances. However, seeing the positives of all situations is crucial – this experience will make all of us stronger, and unstoppable once it is over. A major positive aspect of this situation is the ability to start getting in the routine of forming daily habits that will help you attain your goals.
Forming habits during while having to stay at home may be a bit challenging as we are limited to what we can do during this time. However, the positive side of this is we can start small and learn the ropes of forming daily habits that will help us reach our goals.
The actions you take each day, are the actions that will determine your future. Each daily action, even those that may seem insignificant, when added up, make a big difference.
To learn how to build habits, start small. What is one positive thing you know you can do everyday and hold yourself accountable to do? Keep in mind, this should not be something that gives you an immediate reward, but something that will give you a reward in the longer term thanks to consistency and persistence.
For example:
- If you spend 30 minutes a day reading something educational, in the long term you may learn something you otherwise did not know.
- If you spend 30 minutes a day walking or exercising, in the long term you may experience health and wellness benefits.
- If you spend 30 minutes less a day on social media, in the long term you may find that you have time to work on your goals and get closer to achieving them.
- If you spend 30 minutes a day doing something you love, in the long term you may be significantly happier than otherwise.
Once you master starting with a small daily habit and accountability, you can begin to form your daily routine around habits.
In this current period of time, many of us are staying home for social distancing. This makes it a great time to practice forming a daily routine around habits. Create a list of the things you would like to accomplish each day. Create a schedule for each day and outline when and how you will accomplish each item.
For example:
Each day I will spend 30 minutes exercising, 1 hour applying to jobs, 30 minutes meditating, 1 hour cooking, 30 minutes on social media, 1 hour connecting with family and friends, 30 minutes reading, 1 hour learning a new skill, 1 hour doing something I love, 1 hour relaxing – there you have an 8-hour day built on daily habits and a routine.
Now, once the pandemic is over it will look much different than this. It will become hard to stick to ALL habits. So, you must start small and be selective. Once a habit is successfully formed, you will have the ability to add on additional habits which will eventually just become normal.
Be careful not to take on too much at the start. Do not beat yourself up if you miss a day but try not to miss two days in a row. Patience is critical during this journey. Read more about the importance of patience here.
According to Healthline, “According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit. The study also concluded that, on average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.”*
Challenge yourself to spend 30 days working on developing a new habit, a daily action that will bring you closer to one of your goals.
Click here to download an exercise to help get you started.
*https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-it-take-to-form-a-habit#base-figure