Creating new habits can be much harder than you think.
How many times have you tried to create a new habit in your life only to fall away from it within a week, month or even a day? This happens to most of us, often time and time again. However, there is a way for you to make habits stick.
“Habits are the small decisions you make and actions you perform every day” - James Clear
Detailed below are the four key pillars which will boost your chances of creating a new sustainable habit in your life. For example, drinking enough water each day or doing yoga a couple of time per week.
4 tips to make your habit stick
Your habit will more likely stick if it:
Is obvious – i.e. it is usually preceded by some kind of cue which is easy to see and gets your attention – if your habit is obvious, it is more likely that you’ll do it
Needs to be attractive to you in some way
Is easy to do – make it more convenient, frictionless e.g. consider your environment design to help make your habit easy to do
Satisfying, enjoyable – if you enjoy engaging in this habit, it’s more likely to stay!
Helping your healthy habits stick
As I’m sure you are aware, not every habit is all that appealing! A positive signal to help you reinforce a habit is what is needed. An important thing to remember is that emotions create habits. If you feel a positive emotion with your habit, it is far more likely to be something that will spur you on to keep you going.
So if a habit you wish to create doesn’t seem all that exciting, reward yourself with something once you’ve completed it which will help with motivation.
All of the tips above can also apply to sticking to your physiotherapy exercise programme.
Sometimes we find that patients struggle to commit to their home exercise programme. At Physioflexx, your physio will work with you to help give you an exercise programme that adheres to these four pillars to increase your chance of success 😊
