The New Year has come, and so have all the new resolutions and goals for success and personal growth. Something about a new year motivates people to start fresh. So many things can happen in a year; most people reflect toward the end of the year and find the things that they would rather change or forget in the upcoming year.
Psychologists have said “It can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.” This is a very large range. When it comes to building and breaking habits, the experience is not the same for everyone, and it is not a one size fits all type of scenario. Consistency is a deciding factor in how long it takes someone to build a habit. And, like most things, it may come easier for some than for others.
However, this is no reason to feel discouraged. Just like anything in life such as graduating, landing your first real job or getting married, successfully forming a habit comes at a time that is meant for you, and may vary from person to person. There’s no right or wrong timeline. The only timeline that matters is the one that works best for you.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), pleasure-based habits are particularly difficult to break, because enjoyable behavior prompts your brain to release dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that sends signals to the reward system in our brains, also known as the “feel good” hormone — similar to serotonin. Since engaging in bad habits can cause our brains to release dopamine, our bodies will naturally crave it, resulting in us giving in and acting on our bad habits. That is why discipline and self-control are important in the process of building habits.
However, exercising discipline and self-control isn’t as easy as it sounds. A great tip and strategy that can be used for breaking bad habits is to simply replace them with good ones. If there is a habit you plan on starting in the new year, for example, going to the gym more, break the bad habit of decreased mobility by going to the gym instead. If you want to drink more water in the New Year, but also have a bad habit of drinking sugary drinks such as soda — trade the soda out for some water.
Another strategy Dr. Nora Volkow of NIH suggests is to “identify the places, people, or activities that are linked in your mind to certain habits, and then change your behavior toward those.” Your environment affects and influences your behaviors which, when repeated, solidify into habits. If you want positive and healthier habits in the new year, it is most helpful to surround yourself with positive people who have the same behaviors and habits. Have you ever heard the phrase “you are who you hang around?” It can be applied to this scenario.
An article by James Clear, author of NYT bestselling book “Atomic Habits,” cites a study by health psychology researcher Phillippa Lally to demonstrate how quickly habits form. “On average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. And how long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances. In Lally’s study, it took anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to form a new habit.”
It’s okay to not be perfect and follow everything down to the last minute. It is better to begin your journey toward healthier habits than not at all. You can always get back on track, slip ups will merely prolong the process, which is not the worst thing that can happen. Author James Clear believes that “Making a mistake once or twice has no measurable impact on your long-term habits. This is why you should treat failure like a scientist, give yourself permission to make mistakes, and develop strategies for getting back on track quickly.”
Here is a tip on how to begin your new habit-forming journey. First, psychologists suggest that starting your new habit on vacation can be a helpful way to incorporate a new habit into your daily routine. You are already feeling good and happy on vacation, so adding that habit while you are away can enhance those emotions and release dopamine. Therefore, when getting back home you will crave that same feeling again.
Another tip is to figure out the reason and motivation behind your desire to form this new habit. Maybe you want to be stronger or fitter, and picturing yourself in that form can push you to keep that motivation in mind. Another helpful tool is creating a vision board of all the things that you want in the New Year. Vision boards will allow you to look back at these images and work to incorporate them into your daily reality.
With that being said, there is no right or wrong way to walk your journey to become the best version of yourself. Also, starting is better than not trying because after you start it can only go up from there.
