How to create and maintain new habits?

If something characterizes our brain, it is its plasticity. Today we know that neurons generate new connections throughout life, thus being able to learn and behave differently until the day we die. We don't have to always act in the same way. Changing habits and customs opens us up to new possibilities and enriches our quality of life, indirectly increasing our own.

How to create a habit?

To establish a habit, they go through six different stages:

• Precontemplation: you begin to assess the need for change and observe the pros and cons of the new habit you want to start.
• Contemplation: it is usually the longest stage, since it implies becoming aware of the need for change and above all making the decision to carry it out.
• Preparation: Change mechanisms are beginning to be put into practice, but they tend to turn into failed attempts. Obstacles to achieving the objective become evident. Although there is no real transformation, this stage is very necessary as it underpins the process of progress and makes it more real.
• Concretion: By learning from the mistakes of the previous phase, it is possible to propose a more concrete and effective strategy to achieve change.
• Maintenance: the habit has been achieved, but it needs to be consolidated and strengthened so that it persists naturally in our lives. For this it is important to add new reinforcement habits that facilitate continuity. For example, if you stop smoking, also establish a routine of physical exercise.
• Relapse: the maintenance of the habit is not something linear, there are ups and downs, so relapses are an expected part of the change process. It is important to understand that a relapse does not place you at the starting point, since there is much already advanced. It is essential not to punish yourself and take action. It is recommended to resume the process in the "preparation" phase, taking into consideration what factors led to the relapse in order to contemplate it in the future and generate learning. It will serve to more clearly identify risk factors.

How long does it take?

It has always been established that 21 days are the time it takes to create a new habit, and this time has several theories behind it. It seems that its origin is in NLP, but there are those who place it in the time it takes for a chick to hatch from the egg… However, a recent research by University College London puts it at 66 days.

In any case, the truth is that Every person is a world and there is a whole series of external and internal factors that influence the necessary timing. The important thing is to find a way to achieve it and consolidate it over time.

How to establish a habit?

To establish a habit we need to make changes in three planes of ourselves:

• Thoughts.
• Emotions.
• Behaviors

Some ideas that can help are:

• Define: Sometimes it is not willpower but strategy fails, so clearly answer the following questions:
  • What do I want?
  • Why?
  • So that?
  • With what?
• Keep it real: Set goals that are achievable and that depend on you.
• Create a plan and work with an agenda: having it written and organized will help you break away from laziness. Set alarms to remind you of important things.
• Prioritize: put your focus on maintaining the goal.
• Repetition and constancy: they are the "gasoline" of habit. For something to be considered part of our life, we need to give it familiarity. Our brain needs time to re-educate itself. It is normal for automatisms to appear that lead you to old habits, but little by little it is repositioned.
• Take it as a challenge, not as a punishment.
• Arm yourself with your own abilities. What parts of yourself have helped you be successful in the past? Use your "superpowers" from the past (strengths, values ​​and attitudes).
• Focus on what is up to you. For example: if you want you cannot decide factors such as genetics, but you can do things that help achieve your.
• Track progress and reward yourself as you reach small intermediate goals.
• Learn to enjoy maintaining the habit: Motivate yourself with small advances, each time you are closer to achieving your goal.
• Let's go by parts: Establish only one habit at a time. Embark in a second only when the first is achieved.

How to overcome difficulties?

We need to take into account the difficulties that we may encounter in the process to achieve our goal. Only by knowing the "enemy" well, will we know how to weather it. What difficulties will you find to achieve it?

• Redefine the meaning of routine: Do not live the repetition of the new habit as an obligation or imposition, but as a desire for change that is born from a self-care decision.
• Abandon the "all-nothing": Since I have failed today, I stop trying for the rest of the week. It has been shown that if we allow ourselves to skip a routine promptly, it is more likely that we will maintain it over time. Flexibility is essential.
• Postpone: do not postpone your goals, today is the best day to put them into practice. Neither in yesterday nor tomorrow do you have room for intervention, only in today.
• Impatience: Forget the culture of "I want it all now and without effort."

• Each person is different and there are a whole series of external and internal factors that influence the time it takes to establish a habit. The important thing is to find a way to achieve it and consolidate it over time.
• To establish a habit we need to make changes in three planes of ourselves: thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
• We also need to take into account the difficulties that we may encounter in the process of reaching our goal. Only by knowing the "enemy" well, will we know how to weather it.

Health psychologist and psychotherapist at Teladoc