Master Your Habits with These 3 Tricks

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Do you ever wonder why you can change some habits overnight, yet others take years, even decades?

Are you desperate, even anxious to change a habit, but you can’t seem to make change stick?

Today’s message is dear to my heart. Why? Because I spent years, decades even, trying to understand the truth to today’s topic. I’ve gone through major changes over the past six years, and one of the most important was learning how to master my habits. I made myself a guinea pig, tested my theories on friends, and researched the science of habits for my next book, Adventures for Your Soul. Through all this, I’ve identified a process to help us transform habits holding us back.

Learning to love my life fully meant replacing old habits with new ones. Most everything we want in life comes back to our daily habits. <<Tweetable Truth

Did you know that more than 40% of our behavior is automatic each day? We repeat habits, as they are the invisible details of our lives. But what about the habits we want to change? Today’s blog and video answers the question “How do we make healthy habits stick?”

Are you wondering how to master your everyday habits? Maybe you overeat, overspend, or avoid communicating about key issues. You want to be healthier and happier, and if you could just cut back on the self-sabotaging habit, your life would be better.

I know this all too well. I spent years falling into unhealthy habits, and I wanted more than anything to be healthy, but I couldn’t make my changes stick.

Today’s message is super relevant because all of us have areas of our lives we’d like to improve. Maybe you want to find your soul mate, save more money, or lose those stupid stubborn pounds. Well good news: One way to change is by using healthier habits.

One of my personal goals for a while has been to lose weight. I would work out daily but still end up overeating. I resisted calorie counting because it felt too structured, so I practiced listening to my body. This in itself was not enough for me to make healthy change stick. At first my brain would override my body’s clues that said I was getting full. My brain would say, much like Cookie Monster on Sesame Street, “Yum! Sugar. Keep eating; don’t stop till it’s all gone.” I realized my brain was running the show, so the way to change my habits would first have to start by a mental makeover. I needed to retrain my brain.

I decided to eliminate sugar from my diet for 30 days, a radical reset, and this helped me create other healthy habits to allow me to finally lose weight.

No matter what your goal, you can make healthier change stick, too, by applying these techniques:

1. Decide not to Decide

Decide not to decide is a concept Gretchen Rubin shares in her book Better Than Before. Most of us want to make healthier choices, but we decide in the moment if we want to do it. I use to fall asleep at night intending to exercise when I woke up. I’d set my alarm early but wake up in the morning and decide to push snooze three or four times. Instead of deciding the night before, I gave myself an out and said I would see how I felt in the morning.

This pattern continued for years and it wasn’t serving me. Now, thanks to Gretchen’s approach, I have decided not to decide. I have made a commitment to myself to work out first thing in the morning and eliminate sugar. There’s no waffling, no wishy-washy moments of lack of self control. I’ve committed to my healthy choice, and the decision not to make a decision has made me healthier and more in control of my life.

2. Schedule Self-Love

 Scheduling self-love time into your calendar is essential for your health and establishing new habits. My sister-in-law is a shining example. When I asked her how she is able to get so much done and feel so balanced, she said, “I schedule self-care. It’s on my calendar so I never skip it. My massage is on the calendar and booked, my nail appointments are booked, and reading times are all schedule.” When we take time out for ourselves, we feel more balanced, and when we do this we establish self-love and trust. When we schedule things we often stick to the schedule, so schedule in your healthy habits.

3. Accept Yourself

Many of us want to make a change because we are desperate for it. The overweight body has forced you into needing to lose weight, the job you hate has pushed you into exhaustion. When we opt to make smarter, healthier choices, we often jumpstart from a place of hating where we currently are. For instance, if you want to meet your soul mate but hate that you are single, it is a lot harder to find what you want. Acceptance is key. When you can accept your situation and yourself on your way to your healthier, happier self, you will feel more free.

I’d love to hear from you. What act of self -love will you schedule this week? Leave your comments below.

Special note: Today’s message is inspired by Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin, I am reading this book and loving the process.

Coming Aug 25th: Pre-Order my new book Adventures for Your Soul: 21 Ways to Transform Your Habits and Reach Your Full Potential.