How To Create New Habits: 7 Ways To Make New Habits Stick
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If you’re ready to create new habits or struggle to make new habits stick (over and over again, yes, I know the struggle…), it could be that you’re just missing a few simple actions that are important when you’re trying to adopt healthier, better choices in your life.
I am constantly working on a new habit in my life and I’ve found that sometimes, to create new habits, you really have to do more than just “deciding to be better”.
So here are a few ideas on how to create new habits and make them a beautiful part of your life!
You can use them whenever you want to create new habits in a shorter period of time as well.
How To Create New Habits: 7 Ways To Make New Habits Stick
1. Don’t overcomplicate the process
If you want to create new habits, it’s best to start simple and avoid overcomplicating things.
For example, if you want to create a habit of working out every morning, don’t start with a gym membership.
Getting up earlier in the morning AND going to the gym can feel a little overwhelming at first.
Instead, start with getting up earlier and doing a simple workout at home.
To make it even simpler, find a workout video you like on Youtube (or workout app) and have it ready on your phone so you don’t even have to think about actual moves.
The simpler it is, the easier it is for you to do, the better your chances to create new habits successfully and make them stick (plus, you can always advance and adopt more complex habits whenever you feel ready).
Related: 6 Easy Good Habits That Help You Thrive In Life
2. Do it for a month
It may be harder to create new habits if you instantly decide to do it for your whole life. It creates an unpleasant feeling…
Now, they say it takes 90 days to create a new habit, but I found that for most habits, just doing it for 30 days might be enough to make it stick.
Keep in mind that it takes time to create new habits – no matter what it is – and you have to be patient, at least for 30 days.
It does not happen overnight and slip-ups can happen too, even a few times and that’s OK.
3. Use reminders
Life is hectic and it’s easy to forget about those decisions you’ve made while lying in your bed at night and overthinking negative choices in your life…
I used to be stuck in a terrible loop when every single night I told myself: “Tomorrow is the day that I am changing this.
Tomorrow is THE DAY.” Guess what happened every morning… Of course, I forgot everything and went with my old ways.
A simple way to change this and help yourself to create new habits is by using reminders (wow, a real life-hack, haha) 🙂
You can get a reminder app on your phone, or simply set a few alarms to remind yourself to do your habit.
It can be a little annoying at times, but unless you remind yourself to do something, you will probably forget it – it’s as simple as that.
4. How to create new habits instead of bad habits?
Find replacements!
Are you trying to create new habits in order to replace those icky-yicky bad ones?
Make sure to find a replacement for the void that’s left after you ditch them.
Since most of our bad habits have a purpose pleasure, kicking them out of your life might leave you a little empty. If you don’t find something to fill that emptiness, you will be tempted to go bad to your bad habits.
To counter that, make a list of the exact things, habits, or activities you’re going to practice instead of your bad habit.
Try to choose something that will give you pleasure as well.
For example, if you’re trying to kick the habit of snacking too much in between your meals, replace it with a few minutes of sitting in the sunshine.
It will lift your mood just as well and it will be easier for you to cope.
5. Think of it as an experiment.
Sometimes people struggle to create new habits because they feel like they have to conform to some kind of invisible rules.
And they’re pretty much right!
Building new habits requires self-discipline and effort to do things that you don’t really want to do.
Yet, it’s also how it works.
To help yourself in such a situation, think of new habits as an experiment you’re doing in your life.
Decide that you will test a new habit out, see if you like it and whether it’s worth your effort + time.
Admit that you might need adjustments to make it work.
Simply speaking, instead of thinking of habits as rules, think of them as fun experiments you’re doing out of curiosity.
6. “Think of the consequence!”
Sounds like your mom? 🙂
Well, even if it does, thinking about possible losses can also help you to create new habits.
Think about what would you gain if you created a particular habit and made it a part of your life.
Imagine yourself having it.
Then, think of what you would lose if you didn’t adopt this habit.
Usually, it works as a pretty strong motivation to keep working on your new habit until it finally sticks.
Let’s use the example of working out in the morning and let’s say you’re quite overweight.
If you did stick to this workout habit, you would gain better health, a sexier body, a stronger body, more energy, new relationship possibilities and a lot of other beautiful things.
Now, if you didn’t work on this habit, what would you lose?
Of course, you would lose all those benefits above, but that’s not all.
You would probably be less healthy and fit, you would regret it every time you have to take pictures, you won’t be able to buy clothes you actually like, you will have less and less energy every day… This list can go on and on.
I guess it’s safe to say that it’s a lot more worth to adopt this habit, than not.
Use it as your motivation!
7. Do it daily
My final tip on how to create new habits is to do your best and practice your new habit daily.
It’s probably the most important thing to do if you want to make new habits stick because repetition is what habits are.
Keep doing your habit daily (if possible) to reap the best results.
Use all the tips above to help + motivate yourself and soon you’ll find that it’s not that hard to create new habits… You just have to be smart about the way you do it, and train yourself to be consistent.
Related: The Secret To Achieving Anything You Want In Life
Also read: 99 Habits For Better Life
I hope these tips gave you a better understanding of how to create new habits in your life.
Now go set those reminders!!
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