Habits: How to Build New Habits That Stick

• Do you find it difficult to achieve your health or weight loss goals?
• Do you have bad habits that you can’t seem to get rid of?
• Are you looking for new ways to get better habits to stick?
• Do you want to make changes in your life but have no idea where to start?

Have you tried countless times to change your habits with no success? I used to be in the same situation until I found the solution. Most programs try to change your habits without getting to the root cause of why you developed the bad habit in the first place. This is like putting a Band-Aid on a deep cut that needs stitches. It won’t work. The following program will help you build new habits that stick!

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How to Improve your Habits

This guide will provide tips and tricks on how to build new habits and use them to achieve your goals. There is also a free online platform that you can join at no cost. It will keep you motivated and accountable.

There are certain things we do on autopilot, such as brushing our teeth in the morning. This is a habit and we do it without even thinking about it. Habits are created by repeating activities until we do them without even thinking about them. When we start creating a new habit, we have to work hard to force ourselves to do it. However, when we do it often enough, our brain will strengthen the connection to the new habit and the old habit will become weaker and weaker. Eventually, you will do your new habit without thinking about it and it won’t be a struggle anymore.

There are many ways to make new habits stick, but not each method works for each person. We will help you find the best habit-changing method for your specific needs to help you finally make those new habits stick for good.

Motivation

Before you start this journey to change your habits, it is important to know WHY you want to make these changes. This will keep you motivated. The journey will not always be easy, but when you know how much and why you want something, it will make it easier to put in the effort.

Either write your motivation in your journal or create a vision board (a visual representation of your goals).

Where are you headed?

Your life is the result of the choices and decisions you made in the past. Every choice you make carries a consequence.

Rewrite your story

Your life is the result of the decisions you made. However, you have the power to make your decisions. You can carry on with your current habits that will lead you to the story above. On the other hand, if you make better choices and decisions, your life will change as a result.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same things over and over, expecting a different result”.

Think about where your life is heading if you carry on with your current habits. Then, consider a new story, where you change your habits. Where will these new habits take you? How will your life change? Where will you be in 20 years?

What is the cause of the habit?

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a problem-solving method that aims to identify the underlying factors that contribute to a problem or issue. By performing RCA on your habits, you can gain a deeper understanding of the causes of your habit, which can help you determine the most effective strategies for changing it.

• For example, if you have a habit of procrastinating on your work, RCA might reveal that the root cause of the habit is a lack of motivation, stress, or a lack of clear goals. With this information, you can take steps to address these underlying issues, such as setting clear, achievable goals, managing stress, or finding ways to increase your motivation.
• For example, if you have a habit of overeating, RCA might reveal that you overeat due to stress, boredom, or emotional triggers such as anxiety or depression. With this information, you can take steps to address these underlying issues, such as finding healthy ways to manage stress, engaging in activities to reduce boredom, or seeking help for emotional issues.

RCA can help you change your habits by providing you with a structured and systematic approach to identify and address the root causes of the habit. By focusing on the underlying causes of the habit, rather than just its symptoms, you can create a more effective and sustainable plan for change.

Choose your habits carefully

Create a list of habits you would like to develop. Go over this list and ask yourself why you want to develop each of these habits. Write down your motivation for each habit.

Prioritize your habits so that you know which one you will start working on. If you work on changing all your habits, then the chances are you will become overwhelmed and will quit. Start slowly, one habit at a time. If you choose very small habits, then you can start with two or three.

The best way to successfully build new habits is to start small. Choose small habits that you can easily adopt instead of bigger habits that overwhelm you and cause you to quit. Keep your habits small and achievable.

You don’t need to make big changes to your life to see a big difference. Instead, make tiny changes to your behavior, which, when repeated over and over, will become habits that may lead to big results. If you improve by 1% every day for one year, then at the end of the year you will be 37% better. Small changes make a big difference over time. (see “Atomic Habits“).

Here are some examples of habits you could introduce:

• Replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk
• Eat more vegetables
• Drink more water
• Exercise 3 times a week
• Spend less time on your phone
• Reduce your screen time
• Sleep more
• Meditate daily
• Cut your sugar intake

Think about why this habit didn’t stick in the past

The chances are you have tried to change this habit before. It is important to find the reason you didn’t succeed in the past and address that. One of the ways to do this is to use Root Cause Analysis or the Five Whys. We offer a free 5 whys template to help you with this analysis. The idea is to ask yourself why the habit didn’t stick and to keep asking “why” until you get to the root cause. Here is an example:

• Why did I keep eating junk food even though I tried to diet? Because I really wanted to eat it.
• Why did I want to eat it? Because it made me feel good.
• Why did it make me feel good? Because it made me feel alert and focused.
• Why did I need to feel alert? Because I was very tired.
• Why was I tired? Because I didn’t sleep enough.

Now that I got to the root cause, I realize I must ensure I sleep enough or find other ways to feel more alert without using food. Had I tried to stop eating junk food without trying to sleep more or find other ways to feel alert, then the habit would not have stuck for long.

What are you going to do?

Write exactly what you are going to do to change this habit. Your tasks should be actionable and clear. Make sure you address the real cause you never succeeded in the past (see above) or the reason you have developed this habit.

Monitor your progress

Keep a habit tracker to monitor your progress. When you track your habits, you will be more likely to do them. Don’t forget to check your habit tracker daily to stay accountable. Reward yourself when you keep a habit up to stay motivated.

Habit stacking

Habit stacking is a great strategy to adopt new habits (see the Atomic Habits cheat sheet). With this technique, you can take advantage of habits you have already developed in order to develop new habits. The idea is to identify a habit you already do every day and then stack your new behavior on top.

After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED]. Read more about habit stacking here.

>>See how you can use habit stacking<<

Temptation bundling

Temptation bundling is another great strategy to adopt new habits (see Atomic Habits). The idea is to pair a pleasurable activity with one you don’t enjoy as much but need to do.

With this technique, you can stop procrastinating and boost your willpower. See how to create your temptation bundle

After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT].

You can combine temptation bundling with the habit-stacking strategy above.

The habit stacking & temptation bundling formula is:

After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED].
After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT].

For example, if you want to watch TV or drink coffee, but you need to exercise:
1. After I get my morning coffee, I will exercise (need).
2. After I exercise, I will watch TV (want).

Reward yourself

Reward yourself when you reach milestones such as completing a habit tracker or marking it 80% of the time. Sometimes the reward will keep you motivated and on track.

Build a new identity

The best way to make a habit stick is to turn it into a part of your identity. James Clear refers to this as identity-based habits. The most effective way to change your habits is to focus on WHO you wish to become and not on WHAT you want to achieve. Make the habit part of your new identity.

When a habit becomes a part of your identity, it becomes an integral part of who you are and what you stand for, making it less likely to be abandoned or forgotten.

Your habits shape your identity and vice versa. There are three layers of behavior change:

• a change in your outcomes (i.e. what you get or what you achieve)
• a change in your processes (i.e. what you do)
• or a change in your identity (i.e. what you believe)

Your current behaviors are simply a reflection of your current identity. The way you behave is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously). If you want to change your behavior you need to first change your identity (i.e. change the things you believe about yourself).

See Atomic Habits for more details.

Never miss a day

When you miss one day and make excuses it becomes too easy to keep doing it. Try to never miss a day and you will find yourself much more successful. On the other hand, be careful not to adopt an all-or-nothing mindset. You don’t want to stop altogether if you miss one day.

Accountability partner

An accountability partner is someone who will support you to keep your commitment to change this habit. They could be a friend, partner, or family member. They should ask you about your progress and you should confide in them if you are struggling.

Commitment devices

Use commitment devices to help develop habits. There are many different commitment devices. For example, a cash commitment device. You nominate a friend to whom you will be accountable. You track your goals and share your progress with this accountability buddy. If your accountability buddy sees that you are not making progress, she will fine you. You should agree on the milestones and the fine beforehand.

Habit Contract

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, suggests you use a habit contract to keep your habits on track since it imposes negative consequences if you fail to do so.

Public pledges

A public pledge is where you make your goals public. You can let your friends and family know or post them on social media. The idea is that after you have publicly announced that you are going to do something, you will be too embarrassed not to do it. I like to tell my kids about my goals as I don’t want to set a bad example so it increases the chances I do something once I have shared it with them.

Choose your social influences

Choose the people you spend time with well because they will influence you. Surround yourself with the people who live the way you want to live.

Practice visualization

Visualization is a popular practice that can be used to make changes in your life and achieve your goals. Athletes use this technique to help them reach their goals. They visualize themselves performing and winning before an important race. Use this technique to reach your goal.

Substitute your old bad habit with a new healthy habit

When trying to stop doing something, it often helps to substitute your old bad habit with a new healthy habit. For example, if you want to stop eating dessert after a meal, start eating fruit after each meal. If you want to stop eating anything sweet after a meal, you can start a new unrelated habit like brushing your teeth or rinsing your mouth after a meal. I personally recently stopped eating fruit after lunch, which had become a habit, and I started putting hand cream on my hands after lunch. It is unrelated, but my hands feel soft, and it helped me substitute a bad habit with a new habit. It made my hands softer and eventually stopped me from automatically thinking about fruit or something sweet after a meal.

Make it obvious

This is the 1st law of Atomic Habits. Make your cues as obvious as possible, and you’ll be more likely to respond to them.

We all have cues that trigger certain habits. Since certain stimuli can prompt habitual behavior, you can use this to change your habits. For example, you can change your environment to encourage better habits. If you want to eat healthy food then have healthy food available and ready. If you want to exercise then put your clothes out and ready.

Make it easy

This is the 3rd law of Atomic Habits. If you want to build a new habit, make that habit as easy to adopt as possible.

5 Second Rule

Use the Mel Robbins 5 Second Rule when you feel yourself hesitating before doing your new habit. Count 5-4-3-2-1-GO and move towards action. There is a window that exists between the moment you have the instinct to do something and your mind killing it. It’s a 5-second window and it exists for everyone. If you do not take action then you will not change your habits. However, this simple 5 Second Rule can prevent your mind from working against you. You can start the momentum before your mind starts thinking of excuses.

For example, if you have decided to exercise in the morning, start counting backward to yourself: 5-4-3-2-1. The counting will focus you on the goal or commitment to exercise and distract you from the excuses in your mind. As soon as you reach “1” – push yourself to move. Get dressed and head off for the gym. This is how you push yourself to change your habits when you don’t really feel like doing it. It only takes 5 seconds.

Set reminders

Set reminders until your habit is established. For example, if you are trying to drink more water, then set an automatic alarm every day at the times you would like to drink water.

Create a Plan B

When you start your journey to adopt your new habit, you are very motivated in the beginning. It seems like it is going to last forever. This is so easy, you think. Nothing will stop you from doing this every day. But then life happens and obstacles arise. Suddenly, you can’t wake up in the morning or your friend offers you your favorite cake.

Before this happens, think about potential obstacles and what you will do to overcome them. Be prepared for them when they happen because they eventually will. However, when you are prepared for them, you will have a much greater chance of overcoming them. For example, keep a healthy snack in your bag for when you are hungry or tempted.

Understand your behavior chain

You don’t just develop bad habits out of the blue. Bad habits are developed via a process called the behavior chain. This is a subconscious process that controls your actions even if you are not aware of the process. The first step you will need to take to form a new habit is to understand the process. All processes start with a trigger. The trigger can be related to a feeling, a smell, an action, an event, etc. The trigger produces thoughts such as “I need ice cream” and these thoughts lead to actions (eating ice cream). If you are finding it hard to change a habit, spend some time trying to understand your specific behavior chain.

Repeat your habit as often as possible

When trying to form a habit to do something, the best way to succeed is by doing that as many times as required until it becomes automatic — for example, if you want to start drinking ten glasses of water each day, do this every day for 66 days. Eventually, you will find yourself drinking the water without thinking about it or counting glasses. In the beginning, you might have to force yourself to do this, but keep going. How long does it take to form a new habit? You might have heard that you only have to do something 21 times to form a habit. Unfortunately, the 21-day claim was taken out of context. It takes about 66 days to form a new habit.

Your goal is to stick with this new habit for 66 days.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” has some good advice on developing strong habits based on the guiding principles in the book.

The following principles will help you with your current challenge to adopt your new habit.

1. Be proactive about taking responsibility for your life (habit 1). Your life doesn’t just “happen”. You choose what happens. You choose if you are going to adopt this new habit or go back to your old habit. You choose if you are going to be successful or not. Don’t blame other people, conditions, or things. Take responsibility and make things happen.
2. Begin every task with the desired outcome (habit 2). Visualize where you want to be in the future once you have changed this habit. This new habit should lead you somewhere you want to get to.
3. Prioritize by putting first things first (habit 3). Now that you have decided to adopt this new habit it must become a priority. That might mean that it will come before other things. Prioritize this new habit. Add it to your weekly planner and make sure you get it done.
4. Make sure you take time for yourself (habit 7). You are the only tool you have in life so invest in yourself so that you can deal with life and have the strength to contribute and reach your goals.

Biohacking

Biohacking is based on the idea that the human body and mind can be optimized using data-driven and technology-based approaches, and it is often pursued by individuals who want to change habits related to health, wellness, and performance.

Biohacking is a set of techniques and practices aimed at optimizing the human body and mind to enhance overall health, wellness, and performance. It can be used to change habits by using data and technology to gain insight into one’s biology and behavior, and then using that information to make changes.

Here are a few ways biohacking can be used to change habits:

• Tracking and monitoring: Biohacking often involves using wearable devices (such as an Apple Watch or Fitbit), apps, and other technology to track and monitor various aspects of one’s health and behavior, such as sleep patterns, heart rate, and physical activity. This information can be used to identify patterns and habits that need to be changed. For example, these devices remind you to stand up and stretch, take more steps, or drink more water.
• Nutritional optimization: Biohacking can involve optimizing one’s diet and nutrition to improve overall health and performance. This can involve tracking nutrient intake and making changes to the diet to address any imbalances or deficiencies.
• Mind-body techniques: Biohacking often involves incorporating techniques such as meditation, mindfulness, and yoga to improve mental and emotional well-being, reduce stress, and build resilience. These practices can help change habits by promoting better self-awareness and self-control.
• Environmental optimization: Biohacking can involve making changes to the physical environment to optimize one’s health and well-being, such as adjusting the lighting, temperature, and air quality in a living space or spending more time in nature.
• Gratitude: Gratitude is a form of biohacking that involves the intentional practice of being thankful for the positive aspects of life. Gratitude can biohack your mindset. The concept of gratitude as a form of biohacking is based on the idea that focusing on positive emotions and experiences can have a positive impact on overall well-being.
• Music: Music is also used as a tool for biohacking. Music has been shown to have a significant impact on the human brain and body, and some people use music as a way to optimize their mental and physical performance. Some ways music is used for biohacking include:

• • Enhancing focus and productivity: Listening to certain types of music, such as classical or instrumental music, is said to improve focus and productivity.
  • Relieving stress and anxiety: Listening to calming music can help reduce stress and anxiety levels.
  • Improving sleep: Soothing music can help people fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply.
  • Boosting physical performance: Upbeat music can help increase motivation and energy during physical activity.
  • Altering mood: Music can have a powerful impact on emotions and can be used to manipulate mood.

• Cryotherapy: Cryotherapy also known as cold therapy, involves exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures for several minutes. This can be done by immersing the body in a cold bath or taking a cold shower. Proponents of cryotherapy believe that exposing the body to cold temperatures can improve physical and mental performance, boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and pain and cause an endorphin rush. While some people find it beneficial, it’s important to note that there is limited scientific evidence to support the claims of cryotherapy as a form of biohacking. It’s always advisable to consult a healthcare professional before undergoing such treatment.
• Affirmations: Affirmations are used as a way of changing one’s thoughts, beliefs, and behavior. The idea behind affirmations is that by repeating positive statements, people can rewire their brains and shift their focus to a more positive outlook.

In conclusion, biohacking can be a useful tool for changing habits by providing a data-driven and technology-based approach to improving overall health and wellness. By tracking and monitoring various aspects of one’s biology and behavior, and making changes based on that information, biohacking can help individuals develop healthier habits and improve their overall well-being.