Habits are what they become only when they get repeated. The simple rule is consistent repetition, without which they practically don’t exist.
Have you ever wondered why the new year resolutions don’t stay more than the first month or two? Many philosophers mention that if we continue to repeat an act for 21 days without a break, it becomes a habit. However, sometimes doing a new habit for more than a week is hard, how am I going to find the zeal to continue for 21 days?
James Clear, the author of the book, Atomic Habits elaborated on many small ways one could make and break habits. I am going to share some that have worked for me immensely.
1. Habit stacking approach.
It is the method where in you stack the new habit close to a old habit that you will perform without fail. It can be as simple as thinking of 3 to 5 things in your life that you are grateful for, right before or during brushing of your teeth every morning. Here by saying your thank you in the morning, you start your day with a positive attitude, leaving the rest of the day with hope.
Some other examples could be drinking a glass of water in the morning right after you get up after you brush your teeth or walking for 5 min right after breakfast or lunch. Water helps with cleansing your intestines and walking helps with digesting. These are small increments you can bring in your daily routine that can be built on slowly. For example, you could extend the walk after a meal to 15 to 30 min, leading to a healthy lifestyle.
2. Two minute rule.
Getting up at 5 AM, a habit that seems so hard can be made simple with the 2 min rule. As the alarm wakes you up, all you have to do in 2 min is to get up from bed and hold that toothbrush in your mouth to start brushing your teeth. The rest of the activities will follow post brushing your teeth.
Similarly, you could add 2 min of lifting weights in between your morning ritual to initiate interest in weight training. Initially the brain will find it easy to do the weights only for 2 min. However, over time, it will want to do more and that is when you say that the habit or weight training in morning is set.
With the help of habit stacking and 2 min rule, I have actually initiated many new habits in my life lately. Example, drinking water in form of herbal tea in the morning in empty stomach with some fenugreek seeds, reading the Bhagvad Gita while doing the weights, walking and yoga as part of morning exercise.