We all like to think we are in control of things. This can be anything from what we eat, to what we think, but are we really? How many times have you gone round the supermarket and put something in your trolley, such as a huge bar of chocolate, that you know you really shouldn’t but did anyway, then you ‘justify’ it to yourself with flimsy reasons?

This is partly because of little thing called impulse control. (This post is linked to my other post, ‘your brains a liar!’)

Most of the things we do are done out of habit, not generally out of the conscious choice, e.g every morning before you go out, I bet you brush your teeth? Is this done as a conscious choice? I doubt it! Things like this are drummed into us (generally when we are younger) and then become habit. Understanding this is the key to unlocking the success to being fit and healthy, as we transitioned from Christmas to the New Year, which is a pivotal moment in most peoples calendar for setting New Year’s resolutions. These generally involve something along the lines of ‘I’m going to get fit’ ‘I’m going lose weight and be happy’ or something vaguely similar, vaguely being the key word, as very few people set specific goals.

In reality most people who set these goals generally fail in some way, often even before January has finished, how depressing is that? This is because we try to change too much too quickly and our brain, sneaky little thing that it is has a wobble and tells us that our ‘old habits’ are nice and safe and why are we trying to change them? Quite often when something happens that is challenging, this is when we lose our resolve and control and revert back to the original (bad) habit, that has probably not served us well ( our brain has won!).

There is hope however, a great way to combat this is by adding just one or two new habits to an existing habit. This is often referred to as habit stacking, and is a great way to convince our brain that what we actually want to do is good and easy and therefore we should do it. For example, I bet you generally make a cup of tea or coffee in the morning after you wake up? Say for example, your new habit that you want to commit to is to eat a piece of fruit every morning helping you achieve one of your five a day. Well, if you were to put a piece of fruit of your choice, banana apple, orange etc next to the kettle before you go to bed, then when you make your drink in the morning, your fruit is there ready and waiting to be eaten, you don’t have to go and sort it out or find it or whatever it is that may put you off eating it, it’s there ready and waiting making your new habit easier. You just need to eat it and then it’s done, tick it off your list. Because you’ve linked it onto the existing habit of making yourself a drink then the new habit is more likely to stick.

Then this habit can be repeated over the course of a month or two, and hopefully this will then stick and it will become routine.

Another reason that people’s new years habits don’t work is that people choose goals that are vague or hard to stick to. If you choose something that is specific and small and tag it on to your existing habit , e.g. on the way home you might pass the gym? And your new goal is to go to the gym three times a week. If you take your gym bag to work with you so that on your way home you already have it with you, then you can just go into the gym for a 30 minute workout rather than having to go all the way home get changed and then go back out which let’s face it you’re not going to do at least not in the long-term? Make your new habits/ goals easy by preparing ahead get your gym bag read the night before, leaving things in key areas ie a book for journaling on the bed stand with a pen ready to journal before bed, or your water bottle full and ready to take to work with your bag…..etc.

There is some thought that to form and ensure you new habit sticks you should commit to a personal or professional goal for 21 consecutive days. Then after three weeks, the pursuit of that habit should have become a routine. Once you’ve established that habit, you continue to do it for another ninety days to ensure it’s as ingrained as brushing your teeth. Some other studies suggest that the learning of the habit takes longer depending on what it is. The key thing to remember is start small, be specific with what the habit is and why you want to do it and then tie it to another existing habit and finally consistency locks the new habit it.

Have you set any new goals/ resolutions or habits you want to achieve this year. Share them and give your self some accountability (this also helps you stick to them).

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