Hola Beauties! Before we start with this article, my first question is, are you ready to start a positive change in your life? If the answer is a capital YES, welcome; this blog is for you. I will share 5 amazing tips on how to build new habits and break old ones with you.
Disclaimer: There may be affiliate links in this post. If you purchase through these links, I may make a small commission at no cost to you. I am not an expert; I am just sharing my practice and tips that might be helpful to you.
Every year on December 31st, we always make resolutions; for example, I am going to eat healthier, I am going to drink less alcohol, or I will exercise at least 4 times a week, but how many do we stay through these resolutions, and change our bad habits?
The truth is that cutting bad habits is a challenging task to do, but we need to learn how to change these behaviors for good ones.
This Post is About How to Build New Habits.
It is essential to remember that before you start a positive change in your lifestyle, you need to be consistent and responsible for your actions. Start these new changes with a mindset that you can do it and never give up, even if you slip one or multiple days.
Okay, let’s jump to the 5 tips on How to Build New Habits.
1. Reflect on your habits
The first step is to reflect on your good and bad habits. Analyze what the main points for these habits are:
- What is the trigger, and what event makes you react a certain way? Ex: Feel Bored
- What is the action? What is the habit? Ex: Drink Wine
- What is the benefit? Ex: Feel Relax
Be honest with yourself, do not try to hide anything, and if you have difficulty finding these habits, ask somebody close to you. Take the time to do this task every day or at least a couple of times a week, find a quiet place, and write in your journal what these patterns are and how they make you feel.
2. Start planning
Once you have identified all your good and bad habits, now is the time to start planning how to change the bad ones. Take the time to observe how these destructive behaviors affect your life and what will happen if you don’t change them.
For example, a bad habit that I had for years and that I always wanted to change but was tough for me was drinking wine. Every time I was sad, bored, or stressed, I bought a bottle of wine and had 2 or 3 glasses.
Initially, I would tell myself, Oh, it’s okay; I am not overdoing it. It was just something to relax, but then 2 or 3 glasses became more, and when my dad passed away in June last year, I was drinking almost every day to pass the pain.
I started to see and feel the consequences of alcohol: my migraines were worse, my stomach was always upset, and I was bloated all the time; I even gained weight. So, around November, I decided it was time to make a change, and I stopped drinking. I do it now only on special occasions and control what I drink.
To make a change, the first thing you need to do is replace the bad habit with a good one. In my case, for example, my trigger was boredom, sadness, or stress, so when I feel like that, I don’t go and look for a glass of wine; I try to distract myself with other activities like, for example, playing a game (VR), read a book, exercise, work on my hobbies and the reward is the same or even better.
It would be best to change that old bad habit with something that makes you feel the same or, even better, something that excites you.
3. Take action
Now, it’s the hard part: taking action. Before you start changing your life, take a moment to rehearse mentally. Imagine how your slide would be if you added this new good habit to it and how your mind and body would respond; this would give you a perspective on the benefits of this life change.
Take time daily to practice mindfulness and meditation and look deeply into yourself; gradually, you start making this change real.
4. Check on your progress
Reflect on your daily progress, write down your challenges, how you mitigate those challenges, and how you feel mentally and physically. Keep a journal where you can come back every time and review how well you are doing.
If you have a relapse, do not be hard on yourself; keep going and learn from the experience; we are all humans, and that relapse is another stone in the road that will make you a better person.
5. Talk to somebody
Talking to somebody and sharing your feelings with your partner, friend, family member, or just somebody you feel close to and understand is crucial.
Share your experience and how these changes improve your life and reward yourself with something nice once you have this change under control.
Okay Beauties, these are the 5 tips I had to share with you on How to Build New Habits. I hope you enjoy this article and it will help you with your New Year resolution or any changes you want to make for your mind and body.
Let me know your experience in the comments.
Love you all ❤
Adriana
Exactly !!