It’s never easy to change old habits or start new routine.  Studies show it can take from 21 days (Dr. Caroline Leaf Switch on Your Brain style) to 40 days to turn a new behavior into a persistent routine.  Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, states, “It can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. There’s no one-size-fits-all figure, which is why this time frame is so broad; some habits are easier to form than others, and some people may find it easier to develop new behaviors.” 

For the sake of creating a healthy habit like eating a salad 3 of 7 days a week for lunch or adding in an evening walk; I’m going to go with the 21-40 days to build a health habit.  According to a 2021 study published by the British Journal of General Practice, “habits are actions triggered automatically in response to contextual cues that have been associated with their performance.”  An example is when you get in your car you automatically put on your seatbelt.  When this happens, you free up mental resources for other tasks and don’t have to work as hard to do the right thing.

Some habits are harder to break, like the use of alcohol or drugs, as Dr. Volkow stated.  The point - to make a healthy habit part of your routine, you’re going to have to work at it diligently – and do it even when you don’t feel like it to re-program the mind and your habits. This new focus takes mental energy and a mindful commitment. That’s also why setting 1-3 goals at a time that are small action plans to accomplish a lifestyle change is enough to focus on. When we try to do too many changes at once, we can over task the mental resources we have available and feel overwhelmed and then quit. Something has to give and it’s usually the new healthy habit as it takes energy and focus, so we go back to the same old habit hoping for change to occur.

In the second cycle of 21-40 days, you will find that less energy is needed to focus on the habit, but diligence and a daily commitment to the new habit is necessary.  Then once you reach the 3rd cycle of 21-40 days the persistence can pay off and the habit starts to happen.  You may notice, hey – I did that without thinking twice!  Once you achieve that level of success it can become part of your lifestyle. 

Using a habit tracking form; such as James Clear suggests in Atomic Habits can help you track habits. You can clearly see after logging for a week and analyzing the results where time is spent. We all get 24/7, 365. You cannot create or buy more time, but you can evaluate the time you have, and the habits that make up that time. For example: if you notice that every time you walk past the vending machine you suddenly feel like having a snack, and that snack is an unhealthy one; it might be the reason you cannot loose weight. You can then see the obstacle or barrier preventing you from accomplishing your goal. You can then set up an action plan. It could be as simple as finding a new route to the bathroom and avoiding the walk past the vending machine OR using the vending machine as a cue to go to your pre-packed healthy snack and have it, verses the impulsive unhealthy choice. Awareness of how one choice affects the next or how or habits can affect or unconscious decisions can make a small change add up to big success.

Habit journaling can also be helpful using a format like the one pictured below. Realizing what cues the craving. Then what is your response to the craving. Lastly - what reward do you get from the response. An example: You have a stressful conversation with your teen or co-worker. This cues your brain to say, “I need a _________ (fill in the unhealthy habit, a smoke, a candy bar, go shopping). Your response is to fire up a cigarette, eat 10 mini candy bars or impulse shop on the internet and buy stuff you don’t need and cannot afford. The reward is short lived and the consequences can be guilt, shame or a reality check. If you can see how the cue sets off an unhealthy chain reaction - that is where you need to start. The next time a stressful conversation happens, the cue is now to remove yourself and take a walk; drink some water or do deep breathing. The response is a new healthy habit and the reward then becomes feeling better about how you handled the stress. You did a positive thing, or used effective coping skills. That one right choice can then lead to the next one. Wow! I took a walk and I feel better! I am going to do this most days of the week to not only reduce stress, but make me feel good overall. Or maybe even you decide to have a healthy lunch, verses binge on candy bars. That one right choice leads to the next right choice. The feelings of pride and accomplishment wipe away the shame, guilt and self-deprecation that the unhealthy choices fostered.

So, I challenge you to break up with old unhealthy habits. Give them the “it’s me, not you” speech and send them packing! It really is you, your choice and your new reactions to situations.

You may want to reference my blog post “ Baby Steps” on February 15th or Turn Intensions Into Action” January 18th for more food for thought!