As we step into a new year, the enthusiasm to transform our lives often comes with resolutions and goals. Whether it's adopting healthier habits, cultivating a positive mindset, or achieving professional milestones, building habits is key to success. In this Wellness Article, we highlight a few valuable resources we recommend using to help you build your habits, and share some tips to guide you on your journey of habit building.
Habit Building Resources To Consider:
1. Books About Habit Building:
- Atomic Habits by James Clear: Learn about the science of habit formation and discover practical strategies to make small changes that lead to remarkable results.
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg: Understand the science behind habits and how they can be transformed, providing insights into personal and organizational change.
- Made to Stick by Chip Heath & Dan Heath: Transform the way you communicate ideas, so you can build successful habits and bring ideas from concepts through to fruition.
2. Apps To Help Track Progress:
- HabitBull: Set goals, track your progress, and receive reminders to help you stay on track. With graphs and charts showing your visual data on how you performed with your habits, and what your success % is as compared to your desired goals, this app will help keep you engaged with your goals.
- Streaks: Focus on building a streak of consecutive days for each habit, encouraging consistency and dedication. With a strong design, you'll be able to build a consistent daily regimen to maintain your goals.
- Way of Life: If you're trying to build new habits, this is the app for you! It leverages the idea of "chains" as sometimes new habits can't be completed everyday. Give this app a try if you're a data-nerd that wants to build sustainable and lifelong habits.
3. Habit Podcasts To Help Motivate & Educate:
- The Habit Coach Podcast: Listen to practical advice and tips from Ashdin Doctor on building positive habits and breaking bad ones. Each episode is bite-sized and less than five minutes, packed with fun facts, and easy to do habit building tips around health, sleep, de-stressing, productivity, movement, nutrition, and relationships.
- The Minimalists Podcast: Gain insights into intentional living, minimalism, and how simplifying your life can aid habit formation. With over 400 episodes for you to choose from and learn from, you'll get tips on positive thinking, feeling stuck, budgeting mistakes, and more!
- Healthy Habits 4 Life with Dr. Carol Perlman: Dr. Carol Perlman is a psychologist and health coach that created her podcast to share all of her best tips for creating and sustaining daily habits for a healthy lifestyle. She breaks it all down into manageable steps you can incorporate one by one so you manage your time well, maximize your productivity, and create time for self care and relaxation.
Habit Building Tips To Consider:
If you're just looking for a few tips to help get you started, here are our habit building recommendations:
- Start Small: Begin with tiny, manageable habits. This sets you up for success and prevents overwhelm. Once a small habit becomes ingrained, it's easier to expand.
- Be Consistent: Consistency is the key to habit formation. Stick to your habit-building routine, even on days when motivation is low. Small, daily actions compound over time.
- Create Triggers: Associate your new habit with an existing routine or a specific trigger. This helps integrate the habit seamlessly into your daily life.
- Use Positive Reinforcement: Reward yourself for sticking to your habits. Positive reinforcement can be a powerful motivator. It could be as simple as acknowledging your achievement or treating yourself to something special.
- Track Your Progress: Keep a record of your efforts. This not only provides a visual representation of your journey but also serves as a source of motivation.
- Stay Accountable: Share your goals with a friend or join a community pursuing similar habits. Accountability creates a support system that encourages you to stay on course.
- Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity: Understand that setbacks are a natural part of building habits. Instead of seeing them as failures, view them as valuable lessons that guide your path to success.
Be Patient, Be Dedicate, & Be Willing To Grow
Building habits is a transformative process that requires patience, dedication, and the willingness to adapt. By incorporating these resources and tips into your routine, you can cultivate habits that lead to lasting positive change. May the new year be a journey of growth, resilience, and the realization of your most ambitious goals.
If you need any support getting started or along the way, don't hesitate to give us a call, as our Personal Health Coaches are here to help you succeed!
