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The advice I discuss in this blog post has been implemented and inspired by the book, Atomic Habits. I highly recommend this book because this book has taught me how to finally start the habits for success.
I get it.
We’ve all been there where we say were going to start changing our habits for the better, whether it’s eating better, working out, starting that business, whatever your case may be. Or, maybe you’re trying to get rid of the bad ones like smoking, drinking too much, being unorganized, and so on.
But sometimes, we aren’t sure how to go about it. Some of us make excuses and others may be trying to find the time to get these better habits going.
What inspired me to write this post was because I’ve been getting back into the habit of meditating and practicing mindfulness after facing some difficulty in my personal life. I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to be able to get back into the flow of my schedule, but when I was listening to the book, Atomic Habits, through my Audible app, I remembered how I was able to make mindfulness a natural practice for me in the first place.
Now I’m back to meditating and practicing mindfulness (which was a lot easier than I expected) and the way I was able to do so was through these tips that I am about to share with you.
I hope these tips help ease you into implementing better habits so you can finally start the habits for success (which you absolutely deserve).
We all know that our habits change our identity.
For example, let’s say someone tries to offer you a cigarette and you were already not a smoker in the first place. Well obviously, you already identified yourself as a non-smoker. You didn’t sit there and say something like, “No thanks, I’m trying to quit smoking” vs something like “No, I’m not a smoker”.
Our words hold a lot of power than what people realize. When you get used to identifying yourself as a certain way, you put in the motion and path towards you achieving that habit.
It’s like you’re manifesting yourself already being in that position.
So, my question for you is, who do you want to be?
If you want to start running in the mornings, call yourself a runner.
If you’re someone who is starting a business (even if you are only in the beginning stages of it), call yourself a business owner.
If you want to quit smoking, call yourself a non-smoker. So like I said in the example above, if someone tries to offer you a cigarette, tell them that you are a non-smoker, instead of telling that that you are trying to quit smoking. Because if you say it like that, in your belief system, you are identifying with still being a smoker whose just trying to stop smoking instead of completely cutting off that identity and not identifying with it at all.
Next time, whenever you try to slack on building up a habit, ask yourself, “What would a (whatever you want to be) do?”
You’ll start to bring your attention back to the habit that you are trying to implement and have a better chance at becoming the person you want to be.
If you have a hard time remembering to do a habit or you find yourself not having a lot of time to set aside the habit you want to implement, try stacking your habits.
Now, this will only work if it makes sense to you, so make sure you are clear on what habits you want to stack.
So maybe you want to be a cleaner person. Instead of waiting for the dishes to pile up and you having to do them all at once, try washing them and putting them away right when you are done eating (this probably helps even more if you have kids or a big family).
Want to read more books? Pair reading a book with drinking your coffee (or whatever beverage you drink in the morning) and stop reading when you are done drinking your beverage (I like to do this when I’m trying to read more self-development books). That way, reading doesn’t feel like a chore and you get to enjoy it with a hot beverage. It’s a win-win situation!
Want to start practicing meditation? When you get up in the morning, take ten minutes to sit up in your bed (to avoid falling back asleep), and sit in silence for ten minutes (set your alarm ten minutes before you actually wake up to help give you more time). Again, another win-win situation since you are starting off your morning in a peaceful mind space!
Habit stacking basically helps you make obvious ques to get used to you doing a habit. You’ll more likely stick with the habit if you are aware of the ques of doing that habit. Before you know it, you’ll start to naturally do it out of, well, habit!
Sometimes, a change in environment can make it easier for a habit to stick. One of the ways you can do this is through the people you surround yourself with.
A lot of successful people say that the top five (or whatever number it was) people that you surround yourself with, you most likely become. So if you are surrounded by a bunch of lazy people, chances are, you most likely aren’t someone who cares about working out and getting fit. This is especially true if you are someone who relies on accountability and gets motivated by the people around them.
When you surround yourself with people who have the habits you want, you are obviously more than likely to stick with them.
Now, let’s say you are someone who needs to change your environment through your surroundings physically. Try dividing your space up with specific tasks. So, let’s say, your desk in the corner is where you only do your work. Maybe the basement or your garage is used for working out.
The same can apply for devices. Only use your laptop for work and your tablet for fun and games.
I remember in the book that James Clear said that, “self-control is a short-term habit, not a long one”. So basically, what that means, is that our self-control can only do so much. For some people, they may not have as much self-control as others do. That’s why taking bad habits out of the equation may be necessary.
So let’s say you are on your phone instantly when you wake up and you’re trying not to be on your phone right away in the morning. Try charging your phone outside of the bedroom so that you aren’t even tempted to go on your phone.
While we’re at it, let’s think of this on a psychological perspective.
Let’s say you are someone who feels insecure when you go on Instagram and you see all these people, whether you know them or not, with fit bodies and you’re someone who is trying to get fit.
Delete the social media app to prevent yourself from comparing their fitness journey to yours. If you make you feel more disempowered than empowered to go after your fitness goals, you’re best to just delete the social media app in general until you are in a better head space to do so.
I actually did this with Facebook when I found myself comparing my life to other peoples. And since social media isn’t real anyways and people only share the good moments in their lives, why bother comparing myself to them?
So, I don’t have my personal Facebook anymore.
Therefore, if you can, take the habit out of the question.
Priming your space can make building habits for success as easy as possible.
I actually do this with my meditation station. I don’t have a lot of space where I live to just have a separate room to meditate so I have a section at the end of my bed to meditate. That way I can just slide out of bed if I have to and sit myself down to meditate.
It may not look the prettiest, but it helps me get into the mode for my meditations.
If you are trying to eat healthier, take a day out of your week to prep your breakfast, lunch, and dinners. That way, are you already priming yourself to eat better and you won’t have to think about what you want to eat.
If you are trying to workout, try having some dumbbells in front of your TV and do some small lifting while commercials are running.
You prime your space however you want. Regardless, these small micro habits can help set you up for success.
Sometimes, creating a ritual before you do the habit can inspire you to do the habit.
I’ll use me as an example again.
Before I work out, I will take a pre-workout drink and get into some cute gym clothes.
Now, obviously that’s what a pre-workout is for, but since it has so much caffeine for me, I minus well use the energy to get a workout in. Otherwise, I’ll be anxious and jittery all day and I may end up feel more run down then if I had just used that energy to workout.
And maybe, cute gym clothes can help you get in the mode to go to the gym. I mean, when we get our pajamas on, we create a ritual for us to go to bed, right?
Well, why not put on some cute gym clothes to get you to work out?
When I meditate, I like to use incenses as part of my ritual to get me into meditation. Maybe you need to do something like this to get yourself to practice mindfulness, even like lighting a candle or playing nature sounds can help you get into this mindset.
You will have to do a ritual that will most resonate with what habit you are trying to implement in your life. I advise that you make a ritual that is pleasant and enjoyable for you.
You’ll have a better time sticking to it in the long run!
What kind of habits are you trying to implement into your life? Comment down below!
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