How to build daily habits

We are what our habits create.

If you eat ten biscuits a day every day you will see the results this creates.

If you sit on the sofa for ten hours a day you will see the results this creates.

If you exercise for ten minutes a day you will see results.

If you eat ten portions of vegetables every day you will see results.

Habit is a funny thing, there are things that it is easy to do every day – brush your teeth, drink a cup of coffee or eat breakfast.

Then there are things we find hard to make habit – like exercising daily, eating vegetables with lunch or eating breakfast.

What is easy for you to do every day?

How did you get into the habit of doing it every day?

Think about it, all you did was do it consistently.

There are habits you have created when you started a new job, habits that you started to keep on top of the housework, habits you created to make sure the kids have what they need for school.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to if you have a habit you would like to create:

What do you want to change?

Identify what it is that needs to be different, what do you want instead? This will tell you where to start.

Do you believe this is possible?

Ask yourself if you actually believe this is something you can do every day?

If the answer is no, ask yourself why?

You must believe that you can do it or frankly you won’t be able to. Try to identify why this feels unobtainable and then you can work out how to fix it.

Is what you are asking yourself to do too big a step?

If you want to make a big change like exercising for an hour three times a week when you do nothing now or eating five portions of vegetables a day when currently you struggle with one. It is really important to recognise what is possible now.

Today you may be able to manage one more portion of vegetables with your dinner and that is a good place to start. Build it up slowly, nail having one extra portion see how easy that is to achieve and then add some more to another meal. Before you know it you are where you want to be.

Break it down, make it smaller when you find a small action you know you can do that is where you should start.

So now you have a habit you want to create you need to do it consistently every day. So of you go it’s simple isn’t it?

Well no, probably not.

The problem that many of us face is that we mean to do it but we don’t quite get around to it.

So what is the missing ingredient?

What is it that makes you stick to it every day?

Personally I wonder if the missing ingredient is accountability, I would be fascinated to hear if you agree.

So my final question to you is this:

What accountability do you need to ensure you carry out your new habit every day?

Here are some things you could try:

1. Use your phone to set a reminder to do it.

2. Make it easy, for example put your workout gear ready for when you wake up, chop and prepare the vegetables when you buy them so they are easy to cook when you need them.

3. Reward yourself, every time you do it give yourself a pat on the back – It works we all need praise! If it helps use your child’s reward chart or download a reward app on your phone, seeing clearly you have done something every day will help you feel good about what you have achieved.

All that is left is commitment so commit right now and go and do it, if it helps share your commitment in the group and we will check in to see how you are going, or drop me an email and I’ll give you a nudge every now and then to remind you what you committed to.

Kirsty xx