Creating Change with Healthy Habits
Heather Poblete, APN
Staying in theme with the New Year, let’s talk about how to initiate healthy habits. We can all have the grandest of goals and the best intentions, but so often New Year’s Resolutions fall flat after a couple of weeks.
I think that New Year’s is a great time to review what has and has not been working for you and make a few changes for the better. Take advantage of this renewed and fresh energy! But being smart in choosing and implementing your goals is the key to truly forming new HABITS and not just sticking to a ‘diet’ or list of rules for a little while. Long term change is about just that, changing!
So here are a few tips to get your started:
1. Start Small and Gradual: Research suggests that beginning with small, manageable changes increases the likelihood of long-term habit formation. Gradual adjustments make it easier for the brain to adapt without overwhelming your daily routine. For example, want to eat healthier? Start with breakfast and once that feels easy move onto other meals. No need to overhaul every bite you take right out of the gate!
2. Be Specific and Clear: Clearly defining your new habit enhances the likelihood of success. Research indicates that setting specific goals increases motivation and provides a clear roadmap for behavior change. Write down your goal in a journal and be sure it is specific, attainable, and easy to track. In other words, if your goal is vague, you will be too.
3. Pair New Habits with Existing Routines: Habit stacking, or linking new habits with established routines, helps integrate them seamlessly into daily life. This association aids in habit formation by using existing behavioral patterns. Habits are formed with repetition so make it easy on yourself and add onto something you already do.
4. Focus on One Habit at a Time: Concentrating on one behavior change allows for better concentration and dedication to the specific goal. If you are anything like me, you like a good list. And it’s easy for that list to suddenly turn into five or six (or ten) things. But that is surely the path to overwhelm so stick with one goal at a time.
5. Use Positive Reinforcement: Positive reinforcement has been shown to be very useful in habit formation. Celebrating small victories and rewarding yourself for achieving milestones can strengthen the neural pathways associated with the new habit. Using positive self-talk daily is one powerful way to do this.
6. Create a Supportive Environment: Modifying your surroundings to support the desired behavior can enhance the likelihood of success. That may mean reorganizing or purging your physical environment. Or it may mean surround yourself with like-minded people who have similar priorities. Community matters more than any other factor, according to research, so reach out to family and friends to get on board. Or maybe even make some new friends!
7. Monitor Progress: Regularly tracking your progress has also been linked to success. It is well understood that self-monitoring increases awareness, accountability, and motivation. Keep a journal, a video diary, or daily text with a friend. Whatever system you choose, check in regularly and in a measurable way to stay on track.
8. Learn from Setbacks: Understanding that setbacks are a natural part of habit formation is crucial. The research emphasizes the importance of learning from challenges, adjusting strategies, and maintaining a resilient mindset. Many people fail because of an All-Or-Nothing approach but in real life, there are always bumps and stumbles. It’s natural and actually beneficial! So learn from them and keep going.
9. Cultivate Intrinsic Motivation: Being internally motivated and driven by personal values and enjoyment is a key factor in sustaining habits. There is significance in finding joy and meaning in the habit itself. A personal sense of satisfaction and achievement is far more impactful than relying on external validation or achieving a ‘societal standard.’ Change because it’s good for you.
*Written with the assistance of AI
