According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit.
In that study, the average time it took was 66 days.
In my own experience and what I see with my clients, the two most important factors in the formation of a new habit are:
1) How far from the “norm” is the new habit.
2) How strong is the desire, or sense of importance, toward the new habit.
In today’s world of vice-like distractions and quick dopamine hits, I truly believe that we overestimate our ability to shake undesirable habits.
Regarding the first factor of forming new habits, the fitness industry has done a fantastic job of convincing us that change is easy and quick. This can have us to trying to change too much, too soon.
To the second factor; if we don’t feel strongly enough about the change, any resistance we meet – and we will meet it – will derail us easily.
As a result, we often quit before it sets, or we revert back to the way things were. If you’ve done a short-term transformation challenge or 10, you know what I’m talking about.
But it’s not all doom and gloom!
We have greater chance of success if we take smaller bites and aim for smaller goals. These consistent wins will build momentum and confidence.
We will also have a greater chance if we are clear WHY we want to make the change. Get real with what’s pulling you toward a new habit or what’s pushing you away from the old one.
The bottom line is that you can’t see the finish line when you’re trying to make a change.
In fact, I believe that we won’t even know when we’ve crossed it because we wouldn’t be so focused trying to find how much farther we have to go.
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Please share with others if you found this helpful.
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