Embracing the Journey of Healthy Habits one step at a time

The Ultimate Blueprint for Forming Healthy Habits

Habits are like the building blocks of life. Each bad habit weakens the structure of your daily life, and good habits form a strong system for a healthy, happy life. Because of the plasticity in your brain, you can change how you think and behave. 

A habit is a regular practice that is hard to give up because it’s integrated into your daily routine. Cleaning your teeth isn’t something you have to plan; you acquire it through repetition and a set way of thinking. You no longer consciously plan to clean your teeth; it’s an automated behaviour that happens (for most people) like clockwork. At some point in your childhood, your parents or caregivers will have cajoled and reminded you to do this, and initially, it may have been a chore that interrupted playtime or stopped you from eating sweets. Then, you will have done it’ at some point without any reminders.

With the advance of neuroscience, we know that the brain is malleable and plastic. Heating a plastic bottle makes it easy to mould and shape. The human brain comprises an estimated 100 billion neurons, making over 100 trillion neural connections. This is a lot of neural power! Every thought is an electrical signal that releases neurotransmitters that attach to another neuron in the brain. This forms a neural circuit. Every thought you think and feeling you feel strengthens the circuitry in the brain, and these neural pathways are the basis of your habits of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Imagine walking through a forest. Initially, you’ll have to fight through the dense undergrowth without a clear pathway. The more you walk on this same path, the more defined your track becomes. In time, you’ll stop ‘choosing’ which route to take through the forest, preferring to take the path of least resistance. Neural pathways support or sabotage your success by forming a new habit. You, like everyone else, are prone to use the same pathways, thoughts, and patterns of thinking.

10 suggestions to help you create habits and remove old ones:

1. WHY? Identify the new habit that you want to form and reflect on all the reasons why you want this new habit. What are the benefits you’ll experience from forming this new habit? The clearer you are about why you want to create the habit increases your motivation and commitment.

2. FIRST STEP. Most people try to change too much too soon. This becomes arduous and can be overwhelming. For each new habit, identify the first step. For example, putting on your fitness gear is an excellent first step if you want to go to the gym each morning. Once you’ve become used to putting on your gym kit, you are closer to going.

3. POSITIVE EMOTION. A thought with an intense emotion will positively engage your neural pathways. Emotional energy is the fuel that inspires new habits. Make sure that you are doing something that you enjoy. If you want to drink celery juice every day yet don’t like the taste, chances are you’ll stop drinking it.

4. INCREASE DOPAMINE. This chemical messenger in your brain is released when you feel pleasure and increases motivation. You are more likely to commit to a new habit when you feel good. Music stimulates the amygdala, a cluster of almond-shaped cells responsible for regulating emotions. Why not create your own mood-boosting playlist?

5. REPETITION & FREQUENCY. Identify a time during the day when you can engage with your new habit. Daily repetition is crucial for establishing a new neural pathway. Even if you dedicate 5 minutes initially to doing the same thing at the same time every day, you’ll see great results. It’s better to do a 20-minute walk daily than a two-hour walk regularly.

6. TRIGGER. Link your new habit to a trigger. For example, your morning alarm might trigger you to meditate. Every time you visit the toilet, you can do 5 squats. When you tie or stack a new habit to an existing habit, you link them together, and they become easier to establish.

7. CONSCIOUS AWARENESS. Most bad habits form as a coping strategy. For example, overeating might be driven by a need to feel comforted and loved. Vaping might be driven by wanting to feel confident and calm. Make this need conscious by asking yourself: “What do I really want?” Over time you start to recognise that your bad habit isn’t satisfying the underlying need, which starts to interrupt the link between need and habit.

8. SET MILESTONES. It takes an average of 66 days to form a new automated habit. Commit to one day at a time, knowing that new habits can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days to develop. 21 days was an inaccurate myth formed by Maxwell Maltz. If you focus on completing the new habit daily, you become more present, and this is a more manageable timeframe.

9. COLD HANDS. Plunging your hands in a bowl of ice water for 1 – 2 minutes will boost your mental toughness and gives you clarity about your new habit. The ice stimulates blood flow and energy, so when you focus on your new habit, you build a natural link to feeling energised.

10. BANISH BAD HABITS. Identify the emotion you feel when you practise your bad habit. Is it stress, boredom, or anxiety? Then find a substitute for your bad habit based on alleviating the negative emotion. For example, 5 x deep breaths will instantly reduce stress and anxiety.

A series of good habits will transform your life, one habit at a time. The daily actions you do consistently shape your life. Successful people are mobilised by compounding healthy habits.