The key to forming a habit is just getting started
The biggest reason people fail at sticking to new habits is that they don’t keep doing them. Seems rather obvious, doesn’t it? If you don’t keep doing a specific activity, it will never become a habit. Just like brushing your teeth. So, what’s the solution to this obvious problem? Find a way to keep doing it.
When you look at it that way, the key to forming an exercise habit is not how much you do each day (run 30 minutes, bike 10 miles, meditate for 15 minutes), but whether you do it at all. So, the real key is just getting started. Very simply put, if you want to form a habit, you first must start. Form the habit of starting, and you’ll get good at forming habits.
Forming the habit of starting is often easier said than done. This is because personal growth is uncomfortable and we always cling to the comfortable and familiar. To break the cycle of commitment-habit failure, start small.
❚ Focus on the smallest thing, just getting started. You don’t even have to do 10 minutes; all you have to do is start. It’s so easy; it’s almost impossible to say no.
❚ Prepare everything you need to get started. If you need equipment or clothes, get them ready in advance so there are no obstacles in your way when the time comes.
❚ Make your habit convenient. If you need to drive 45 minutes each way for a workout or training session, you are less likely to be compliant.
❚ If you must drive or walk somewhere, plan to meet a buddy when you go. When you have another person counting on you, you are less likely to stay home (or at work), and more likely to meet your friend. This works because you’re making it uncomfortable to not start. The social pressure of leaving a friend waiting for you at the gym or the park is not comfortable.
❚ Tell people you’re going to do the habit of starting your habit every day for 30 days. Having this kind of accountability motivates you to get started, and makes it less comfortable not to start.
❚ Start with the easiest version of the habit. For example, if you want to form the habit of doing yoga, don’t start with an advanced Bikram routine, but try an easy series of sun salutations first.
❚ The past does not equal the future and with every sunrise comes a new day and a new start. Don’t fret over what you haven’t done in the days and weeks past. Learn to embrace the opportunity each new day brings and you’ll be embracing new starts and new habits in no time.