3 Ways to Make a Habit Stick

We all have the best of intentions when it comes to building habits for our lives. On Sunday night, we sit in front of our journals or computers and say, “this week, I will _____”, and it can be a number of things. Perhaps it is to eat healthy or go for a run every single day, or maybe it is to learn for 30 minutes a day. 

Building habits is highly personal, but there are a number of ways you can help make them stick in your life. 

1) Make them visible 

In the case of habits, in sight and in mind should be your motto. Writing them down somewhere you can see them will remind you every single day that this is something you have committed to. You can write this in a journal or habit tracker, a sticky note above your coffee machine or even a notification on your phone. 

Another thing you can do is set yourself up for success to make things easy for you. James Clear really encourages a number of ways for us to make our habits a reality through items like habit trackers to ensure that the development of our habits is front of mind. 

2) Make them easy 

Whether it is a new exercise routine or adding reading to your daily routine, you need to make it as easy possible for you to commit to enhancing or creating this habit. 

If it is reading, you could leave a book by your nightstand every day. If it is taking supplements, you could put your supplements next to the coffee machine. For the 5km run every day, your running shoes in plain sight every day. 

I have a stationary bike and the fact that it takes up some serious space in the front area of my house. I cannot come, go or even make a coffee without seeing it. So, that being said, I have noticed increased activity since buying it because it is in plain sight. 

3) Don’t dream in the dark 

I learned this one from Rachel Hollis who encourages us not to ‘dream in the dark’, and tell those close to us about habits we are hoping to build. Your partner or best friend is a great way to start, so that they can support your goals. 

One of my health goals lately has involved eating in a way that is quite different than I have in the past. In order to be successful, I had to tell my friends what my goals and boundaries were. This often meant me inviting friends to my house for dinner so that I had a bit of control over how the food was prepared. This may have been annoying, but my friends took it in stride and have been huge supporters. 

People in your life want you to be successful, let them in on the new habits you are forming. 

Overall, these are just some of the first things you can do to start a habit in your life once you’ve identified your why and built some systems to see it come to life.