BUILDING A NEW HABIT

There are many things to be said about habits—more than could fit into a blog post. The goal of this blog is not to uncover the science of creating habits. If you want a deeper dive into the world of habits, I would suggest reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, or the Common Rule by Justin Earley. This blog aims to give you a solid reason for creating new habits, a tool for keeping track of your habit, and some encouragement to keep you going.

None of us really arrive at the person we want to be. But, we should always strive to make improvements and take purposed steps from who we are to who we would like to be. One of the best ways to do this is by creating habits. Habits are simply actions we repeat without having to think about them. To take this thought a step further, the actions we take with the time we have make up our lives. If I want to make improvements in my life, a good way to begin is by creating a new habit.

Start with the End in Mind

In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey discusses how to Begin with the End in Mind. He argues that if you want to get somewhere, you have to know where you’re going to map the way there correctly. To create good habits, you need to know what is true of the kind of person you want to become. You need to understand what actions make up the kind of person you desire to be. If I want to be a reader, then I need to have a habit of reading regularly. If I want to be a writer, then I need to have a habit of writing a certain number of words every day. But sometimes it isn't always that cut and dry. What if I wanted to be a more positive person? More generous? Or what if I wanted to specialize in some specific kind of design or art? Whatever it is, it's necessary to understand what characteristics and skills are true of others who have been successful in these areas to know the path from where you are now to where you would like to be.  

The Habit Tracker

Habits take around 90 days to create. So if there is an action that you want to build into your life, you’ll likely need to repeat it for 90 days before it becomes automatic. I've linked a free 90 Day Habit Tracker in this blog. This resource will help you write out both the habit you're trying to build and why you want it to become a part of who you are. And then, because it's so important to see your progress, this tracker will allow you to visualize your progress and encourage you to keep going. 

Of course, there are many digital apps out there that you can use to track your habits. But there's something about keeping track of your progress on a physical piece of paper. Something you can keep on your desk or in a notebook as a reminder. Plus, you don't have to worry about getting pulled into social media, text messages, or email while you're tracking.

Encouragement

In a perfect world, you could write down what you want to do, do it every day, and build whatever new habits you like. But, we live in a world that is far from perfect. This means there are things in life that will fight for our attention. Which also means that habit-building can get interrupted. The important thing to remember here is that every day is a new day and to keep going. It's not always going to look exactly how you want it. There will be some missed checkmarks on the tracker. You have to keep going and resist the temptation to believe that because you can't do something perfectly, you won't be able to make it a habit. Everything takes practice. The more you practice, the easier and more natural it becomes. 

 Credits: Author & Photography -Jacintha Payne | Design - Calvin Payne