Get Your Year In Gear- Habits

By this time, your new gear is worn in, your resolution excitement has died down, and you are quickly approaching the mid-February slump. Luckily, Stinkboss is working hard to keep your gear fresh, but how do you work hard when you are motivation hits the fan? Make a new habit.

According to Dr. Maxwell Maltz, author of “Psycho Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life,” it takes a minimum of 21 days to build a habit. Obviously, there’s power in numbers, but how do you make it through the 21 days? Break. It. Down.

You might want to create a new habit of going to the gym every morning before work, so break that down into steps. Lay your clothes out the night before- step one. As soon as your alarm goes off in the morning, turn your lights on (before hitting snooze)- step two. Chug a glass of water- step three. Put your gym clothes on- step four. Go workout- step five. If you can complete step one, you will most likely finish the process.

Think about a baseball game, how each player has a walk-up song when they are stepping onto home plate. As soon as the player hears it, they are excited. It almost serves as a reminder they have a goal to accomplish. You do not see players turn around and walk back to the dugout when their walk-up song plays. They hear it, and it preps them to bat. Forming habits is very similar.

Give yourself a doable first step that excites you for the process. Maybe that is playing your favorite song, or starting every meal with raw veggies, whatever it is, make it easy and consistent. The hardest part is starting, so set yourself up for success with a feasible step one. Then complete your task, step-by-step every day for 21 days. By day 21, your new habit should be so practiced that your step one is enough motivation to finish your task.

It is not human nature to be motivated all the time, so you have to create your own motivation. It is about the small lifestyle changes that help you accomplish the big goals.

#KeepingItFresh