How do you build good habits?
Nurturing good habits.
Primarily, by freeing ourselves from the social obligation of always having to smile, bee satisfied, happy and accomplished. Life is hard and it is for everyone. We all need to find our own rhythm and build habits (this requires a lot of time and patience) that meet our needs.
Let’s start with the basics: what are good habits?
Habits are automatic, repetitive, and often unconscious behaviour which we regularly carry out. Each time we tackle a new task for the first time our brain works hard to assimilate new information and process it. Once the behaviour has been understood it becomes automatic and the mental activity required for a specific action drastically reduces. Hence, the mind learns the habits, and the consequent actions are no longer a burden (parking, learning a computer program, a recipe, new rhythms due to school, work, commitments).
We are full of habits. As a first step we must free ourselves from the bad ones and leave space to new experiences which we feel we lack or need. As is clear from this introduction, habits are installed in our mind and randomly present themselves in our daily life, and it is for this reason that the bad kind risk becoming dependencies.
It is necessary to pay a lot of attention to what we believe is wrong and intervene. Let’s use a practical example. If we have difficulty waking up in the morning, the day will be tiring and exhausting, most probably you will have to go and find what your sleeping habits are.
Do you eat too late in the evening, and this causes problems? Check your diet: slow down the chewing process, put your cutlery down between one bite and the next, don’t drink during meals, put small amounts of food on your plate, eat less.
Or: do you go to bed and look at the phone until you fall asleep? Do not over-excite your synapses, switch off the phone and try and read.
These actions are sure to improve your sleep, and you will feel reinvigorated and satisfied.
However, the application of this, and of all the corrective actions we all need to make, is far from easy.
Let’s do it together
So, what do we need to acquire healthy habits? Willpower and self-discipline, in a minimum time of at least two months. The first month is essential for your change to be a success. In your thirty days of change you must comply with these steps:
- Start big: the first 3 days you will feel a charge of incredible enthusiasm which will fill you with joy. Don’t overdo it, try to stick to the rules you have given yourself.
- The first difficulties: after the first week the initial enthusiasm will have already worn off, but not the difficulties. If the effort of carrying them out is too much, try to “break up” your goal into distinct parts. For example: you continue to feel the desire to spend time on your mobile phone, put a timer and try to reduce the time, until you zero it.
- You think you’ve succeeded: after the tenth day you start to see the difference and some actions are tried and tested. Do not lower your guard, stay alert and loyal. This is the moment in which you need to be very persistent.
- The fall. It’s possible, don’t fear, get up again. However, not all falls are the same, there are those you can avoid and then there are slip-us. The important thing is to get back up, the right way.
- The routine. Your behaviour is consolidated, the results are tangible (your skin has improved, you are less tired, you are more active, slimmer) and you are incredibly happy about the results achieved. This is the most delicate phase, if you abandon now, you must start all over again from point 1.
Deavocado has created Deavocado Daily Support to help women on a route for continuous improvement, a pill to be taken every day, which is part of the good habits, and helps concentration, good humour and boosts the immune system. We are always by women’s side.
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