21 Day Habits: Myth or Reality? – Karina Timoshenko – Blog

How to change habits?

If you learn to manage your habits, you will be able to completely manage your life. A large number of bad habits (laziness, staying up late, watching TV, playing computer games, eating unhealthy food, not moving enough) prevents you from instilling new good habits in yourself. Everything then seems complicated and overwhelming. But if your life is surrounded by good habits, then instilling new ones will not be a burden to you. Subsequently, your horizons will expand, your social circle and outlook on life will change. Everything will begin to change very quickly. You can instill a new habit in 21 days , and you can quit a habit in the same way, if you stop, do it within 21 days. After this period, it will be easier for you to do or not do a certain action.

How to decide which habit needs to be eradicated and which one to develop first in 21 days? To do this, you need to prioritize.
What problem is most pressing for you at this stage? If you have problems with excess weight and they bother you very much, then it is hardly worth developing the habit of starting to learn a foreign language. You need to approach this issue wisely and wisely prioritize and sequence the plan to change yourself and your life in 21 days.

Stages of Habit Formation

There are three of them in total.

If we use as an axiom “it takes 21 days to form a habit,” then it is clear: every week you need to expect some kind of surprise. But which one?

21 days is a suspended sentence. Therefore, we take a month and allocate 7-10 days for each stage. No need to wait for magic after a week. This is unreasonable.

Stage 1. Physical discomfort

The first days after the decision to introduce something new in life are spent in euphoria. Two days!

Then a very tough internal struggle begins.

Kickbacks are in the mood.

Bad feeling.

And a constant inner voice: “Why is this necessary?!”

Well, really! We lived for 20-30, or even 40 years in a comfortable environment. And again. Get up at 5. Run in the morning. Drink water. Eat healthy food. Go to the gym. Learn English.

Everyone has their own list.

So here it is. There is no need to succumb to provocations. We decided so we decided.

We get up, run, drink, eat, study and teach no matter what.

Of course, if the rollback is very strong - significant physical illness (temperature 40, etc.), then it is worth suspending the process. But not in the “I’m a loser” format, but from the position of “now we’ll normalize everything and continue.”

Having overcome physical discomfort, we meet the second enemy.

Stage 2. Emotional “beliefs”

If you have firmly decided to build a new habit in 21 days, it is unwise to retreat now. Moreover, the most difficult stage is left behind.

Although... how to say.

Over the next 7-10 days of establishing new rules, you will have to fight the internal “whiner”. He will convince you that this is all:

Boring
Unreasonable
Wrong
Tired of it
Can be postponed until tomorrow
Need to take a break

In short, enough already!

You should not give in to the persuasion of the pessimistic part of your personality!

We stand our ground and do what we decide.

Stage 3. False success

Most often they quit at this step. One week until victory. Why?

Because the body, which has failed to convince it with physical influences and emotional persuasion, gives a feeling of false success.

The internal dialogue proceeds in the spirit of the biblical serpent and tempter:

You're doing great, you've already lost weight - that's enough for now...
You’ve been getting up at 5 am for 2 weeks now, it’s ideal - you can rest...
100 words of English in your arsenal, cool - read a book today...

That is, internal argumentation comes from a positive perspective, but is aimed at stopping the experiment on oneself.

You just have to get over this too.

If all stages are completed successfully, a certain action has been consistently worked out for 21-30 days, then the habit will be introduced.

You can move on to the next one.

Big request! Don't get hung up on numbers. The “21 days – develop habits” rule is working, but not a verified canon. All people are different. And if specifically you need 25 days to calmly automate the selected action, then let it be 25 days.

And remember: 1 year – 12 habits, 2 years – 24. With 20+ habits, a new and very cool person appears!

Interesting read:

How to reprogram your brain for positivity and luck: the secrets of positive thinking

Life according to your hand: techniques for self-development and achieving goals

Time management for women: how to manage everything

What to do to change your life for the better in 21 days?

Don't waste your time , do what will bring you closer to achieving and realizing your goals.
Very important get rid of everything unnecessary in your life: things you don't use. From unnecessary thoughts, ideas and actions that do not lead you to a goal or any result, and even from people who take away your time and drag you down.
It is necessary to get rid of the habit of constantly thinking about something , it only takes away strength and energy. Especially. This concerns thoughts about the past. They are meaningless. To be here and now. When the thoughts in your head subside, you begin to feel with your heart. It is at these moments that epiphanies come. Meditation will help you cope with such a difficult task. By doing them for at least 5 minutes for 21 days, we can change our entire lives.
Try to look at life more simply . Then it will be easier for you to bring your ideas to life. If you complicate things, it means you are looking for reasons or excuses for inaction.
Happiness lies in peace . Try to develop in 21 days the habit of not getting angry, not swearing, not getting upset and not thinking about bad things. There is such a parable: “One of the disciples asked Buddha: “If someone hits me, what should I do?” “If a dry branch falls from a tree and hits you, what will you do?” - he asked in response. - What will i do? “It’s just an accident, a coincidence that I found myself under a tree when a branch fell from it,” said the student. Then Buddha remarked: “Then do the same.” Someone was mad, angry and hit you - it's like a branch from a tree falling on your head. Don’t let this bother you, go on your way as if nothing happened.”
Develop spirituality , be kind and attentive to people.
Start a healthy lifestyle . This includes sports, proper nutrition, hardening, healthy sleep. For example, how to start playing sports? Remember, what is important to you is not the result, but the formation of a habit. Therefore, it will be enough to do 5 minutes of gymnastics and 5 minutes of jogging every day. Next, you will gradually increase the amount of time. It is small steps that form a habit in 21 days.
Make a plan for every day . This is a great habit that will save you a lot of time.
Many people complain about lack of time. Combine activities . For example, while riding a bicycle, listen to audio lessons on learning a foreign language.
Get rid of unnecessary habits : stop aimlessly talking for hours on the phone, watching TV or surfing social networks. This will free up a lot of time for you to form good habits.
To rid yourself of fatigue, you need to do different things one by one .
To prevent life from seeming boring, engage in different activities . If you have been going dancing for a year. Then start going swimming, for example.
Don't focus on results or success. Just enjoy life, the innovations that you introduce into your life. Organize your life and enjoy it - this is the best habit.

You must understand that changing your life, looking at it in a new way is all within your power.

What to do with “breakdowns”?

Of course, if a person has the strongest motivation to develop a habit, he will be able to get up at 6 in the morning, go to the gym, quit smoking, etc. and so on. But how to behave in a situation when there is simply no such motivation, because you can “break down” very easily?

In this case, experts recommend adhering to the following tips:

Work on your motivation. If you have a desire to instill a new habit in yourself, a simple argument “this is necessary” or “I should” will not be enough. In response to these arguments, the brain will begin to ask its own questions, the answers to which will often become a “disincentive” to the formation of a new habit. But the solution is simple: you must create serious motivation for yourself. Think about where the new habit will lead you, what prospects it will open up for you, how it can improve your life and how much new and interesting things it can bring into it. Imagine bright prospects as clearly and brightly as possible - only if the desired result is constantly “looming” in your mind, will you have the desire to do what you decided to do.

Track your regularity. If you perform some action for 21 days, every now and then, skipping the 3rd, 5th, 9th, 14th day, you will not form any new habit. Remember that even one omission nullifies all your efforts, even though you were faithful to your decision for 19 days and missed the 20th day. So, do your best not to miss “classes.”
Make an effort. In the process of forming a new habit, you will definitely encounter difficulties when the task seems impossible or you begin to be overwhelmed by laziness or the desire to give up everything. But no one promised an easy path. To overcome difficulties, you must use all your will and strength. Stress yourself for three weeks, make an effort on yourself - and after 21 days you will not only be able to relax, but also understand that everything you have done was not in vain.

From all this it follows that, firstly, any person is able to form any habit in himself, secondly, he will need only 21 days to do this, and thirdly, motivation and self-control.

YOUR HABITS: Do you have any habits that you want to get rid of or that you want to replace? Perhaps there are habits that you have long wanted to instill in yourself, but you still can’t? If so, we suggest you find out how habits are formed in your life, as well as get acquainted with effective methods of self-control and self-regulation - we invite you to take our proprietary course on self-knowledge, which will tell you a lot of interesting information about yourself. You will find the course here.

We wish you, first of all, to form the habit of getting to know yourself always and everywhere, but at the initial stage, 21 days may well be enough for you. So go ahead!

We also recommend reading:

Storytelling
Five Stages of the Change Model
Paperclip Strategy for Habit Formation
How to develop good habits and get rid of bad ones
Charles Duhigg "The Power of Habit" - summary
5 Mistakes When Forming New Habits
Strategy for overcoming bad habits
Formation of useful habits
Overcoming Negative Behavior
How to Implement a New Habit: 4 Effective Strategies
How to determine the cycle of any habit

Key words:1Time management

Forming habits in 21 days

The main goal of 21 days is to consolidate the correct daily routine at the habit level.

Here are the main 7 rules:

We wake up as early as possible , preferably without an alarm clock. Try to set yourself up in the evening and give the order that you need to get up a couple of hours earlier than usual.
Immediately after waking up, you begin studying a foreign language . This can be combined with breakfast.
Next, do exercises or jogging outside. Minimum duration 21 minutes.
On the way to and from work, you read or listen to a book online. This should not be an ordinary novel, but literature that develops the mind or promotes self-development.
At work or school, make a plan for your planned activities and carry out everything according to plan. In your free time, think about what you would really like to do.
After a hard day, spend time with your family , pay attention to your wife or husband and children. If you don't have a family yet, go on a date.
Try going to bed earlier than usual. You can watch a good movie.

The following rules must be followed: do not eat sweets and bread, do not drink or smoke. Also, do not watch TV, news or read newspapers. Throw away 1-3 things every day. Which you don't use. Do not criticize, judge or be angry with anyone. Think more about the future, what countries you want to visit, what to do and how you see yourself.

How many days do you need

In 1960, surgeon Maxwell Maltz published a book in which the “21-day rule” was mentioned for the first time. It says that only 3 weeks are enough for a person to be able to adapt to any life situation. His body begins to automatically perform the action that was programmed.

Indeed, most simple habits (for example, cleaning every day, brushing your teeth, eating right, etc.) develop quite quickly. On average 3-4 weeks. Those actions that require a lot of effort (for example, training the intellect, doing physical exercises, etc.) do not take root as quickly as we would like, about 2-3 months.

A group of scientists from University College London conducted an experiment in which 96 people took part. His task was to find out how long it takes a person to develop a habit. Volunteers performed the same action every day: drinking a glass of juice, going for a 15-minute run, eating fruit.

The result of the study showed a range from 18 to 245 days. The average data is 66 days. The subjects got used to juice and fruit faster than to physical activity.

It is difficult to judge how reliable this information is. The results were assessed only by the feelings of the people who participated in the experiment. Therefore, we will adhere to the opinion that a habit can be developed in 21 days.

21 minute rule

Anyone who exercises 21 minutes a day should not worry about their health.
If you spend 21 minutes a day cleaning your home, you won't have to worry about clutter.
Anyone who devotes 21 minutes a day to improving concentration will not have to worry about creative block.
Anyone who finds 21 minutes a day to listen to the affairs of their husband or wife need not worry about problems in their relationship.
If you spend 21 minutes a day listening to yourself and taking personal notes, you won't have to worry about running out of ideas.
Anyone who works 21 minutes a day to create sources of income does not need to worry about their own financial well-being.
Anyone who sets aside 21 minutes for rest should not be afraid of overwork and fatigue.

Of course, it is not easy to comply with all these rules at the same time. They should not be a burden to you, so, of course, you can retreat a little from them and rest. But it is very important to do them systematically in order to consolidate the habit. Then your life will reach a whole new level.

Start right now, don't put it off until later. Then the results will not keep you waiting. The result of developing a habit in 21 days will be improved health, state of mind and body, enlightenment of the mind, passion and novelty in work and family life.

The 21 day theory

I think many people have heard that it takes three weeks to form a habit. If this is true, then you can radically change your life in a short time.

However, is this true? Will such a short period of time be enough? And how many days does it take for a habit to finally form? First, figure out what a habit is and what types of habits a person has.

And we will move on.

Habits Research

The theory itself goes like this: if you do something regularly for 21 days, then this action is deposited in the subconscious and then performed automatically. This is how people quit smoking, lose weight, and acquire a hobby. Don't believe me? Search a search engine for reviews of this theory. But not now, but after you read the article. Scientists have worked hard on this issue, trying to prove the theory's veracity. People who undergo plastic surgery get used to their new look in 21-25 days.

But a stunning experiment with astronauts breaks all doubts. A group of 20 people wore glasses for 21 days that turned everything upside down. As a result, the human brain adapted and began to normally perceive the world around it as if nothing had happened.

Travel helps change consciousness and perception of the world

Visiting a new country not only gives you an unforgettable experience, but also makes you realize that there is a lot in life that you have not yet experienced. Then you want to live, see, know, feel, try... So you have lived 21 days with the right habits. What to do next? If you feel wonderful, continue to live your life to the fullest . Why go back to the old ways if you are much better now?

Did you know that every 120 days the cells of the human body are completely renewed? You have already lived 21 days in a new look! You only have 99 days left to become a new person at the molecular level. Don't stop, now you know that you can do anything!