Tips to build new habits that long last

Before building for new habits, we need to be aware that habit-building is not an overnight activity. It will not give us the intended results instantly. It is a slow and gradual process and we all need to have enough patience.

Here are the key habit-building tips from my personal tried and tested experiences.

6 Tips to build new habits that long last

1. Find a purpose

You need to know about new habits and why do you want to build it. Find a purpose or a strong reason to build a new habit. Don’t worry if you don’t get an answer in the first try, just kept on asking. The moment you get a glimpse of the purpose and you can feel it, just go for it.

This is nothing but the conditioning of the mind before even starting. Some times I take a day or a week before even starting to build new habits. It is OK to prepare first, rather applying first.

2. Replacing older habits with new habits

First have an intent to build the habit and ready for the trade-off. Based on my personal life experience, I had replaced milk tea with green tea. Whenever I am having an urge to have milk tea (habit since childhood), I now used a basil (tulsi) green tea. I kept on experimenting to have a better taste so that I can stick to the new habit.

3. Find an anchor for new habits

Anchor could be any space to perform an activity for the habit-building or it could be a specific time to perform an activity or it could be an event after which you will start an activity.

For me space has been an anchor for my daily early morning routine on self-improvement activities. The moment I enter into my space, my mind receives a signal to kick start with the activities. Here I dealt with multiple habits of being into yoga, book reading, planks, gratitude, etc

Leverage any activity that you are already performing and habitual.

For example: If you are habitual for walking every day, you could listen to an audio-book while walking and build a new habit of book listening, For me when I tried this, it had it’s own pros and cons, so I figured out what works well for me while walking.

Just keep on experimenting and you will have a clear answer.

4. Start with micro

Building the habits based on building blocks is very important, Foundation using blocks has to be strong enough to bear the weight. Start with what you can manage easily, it could be a micro activity.

My one of the inspiration is a world record holder in 2020, who is 60+ years and he performed a plank position for 8+ hours. I didn’t have an intent to prepare myself for the world record, rather I took it as an experiment on habit building and started doing a plank for one minute every day, I decided I will not go to next level until I am very comfortable, so I kept on doing one minute plank only for more than two months. Later I tried for two minutes plank and started experiencing the withdrawal symptoms, so I decided to switch to one and a half minutes duration plank. Remember patience is key here.

5. Sustaining newly formed habits

Do not overdo for the newly adapted habit, Your mind is not yet settled and the habit is still not part of the sub-conscious (orderly) mind, Mind is in the learning phase and acclimatizing towards the new habit. Moment your mind will get a signal of heavy load for an activity, it will start rejecting. Do just enough and make yourself comfortable.

Let me explain to you with my personal experience, I have recently adopted a new habit of reading books (Genre: self-help), where I have decided to read a minimum of one page and no limit for maximum number of pages in one sitting. I will not stop reading until my mind gives me either a signal of boredom or enough distractions or time limit is over. One page (which I figured out in the initial few sessions of reading) is what was confident that I can read with ease. My mind is familiar with mental conditions while reading one page, so the mind has accepted one-page reading. Even if I am reading just one page in one sitting, I am delivering a self talk to my mind — wow.. bravo.. fantastic achievement. With these compliments I am further motivated to read another page in the next reading session.

In fewer days I could read one page and with persistent reading I used to finish up-to ten pages. This journey continued for many days and finally, I can finish books, which was a big achievement for me.

Remember the initial few days could be boring or exciting, however, have patience and the mind will give you enough signals to suspend the book reading. Just test and try reading the same book a few more times and observe. If you are still losing patience, simply start asking the following questions to yourself -

• Do you want to change the book? Ask why? You will get an answer and solution.
• Do you want to read the book later? Fair enough, just do something else then.
• Do you want to stop reading itself? Don’t force, just do it and start asking questions to yourself, why… why? I am 100% sure you will get an answer and solution.

6. Create an eco-system to operate

Creating an eco-system is very critical to operate upon, this will keep your habit alive in you. Eco-system may have a buddy who can remind you regularly or can check a sanity — hows your new practice going on? Use of social platforms and create a group of people who wanted to do the same. I used gratitude building habits on social platform. I had started announcing to known people about my newly adapted habits, and it re-enforced my mind to stick to the newly formed habit.

Most important is to have a self-review system where you can ask questions to yourself on habit building practice. It is like how you ask your friends.

You may not succeed in every habit planned in the first few instances, so just keep on experimenting and look for a viable solution working for you.

Cheers !!

Kapil Goel