Get In The Habit: The 30-Day Habit- Forming Challenge

New Year’s Resolutions!!!  Did you make a New Year’s resolution for healthier living in 2014?  If you did, do you have any ideas for how you are going to achieve your goals?  If you haven’t, what’s stopping you?  New Year or not there is no better time than the present to move towards positive change!

 The old rule of thumb: It takes 21 days to form a habit.  Focus only on 1 new behavior at a time and stick with it for 3 full weeks.

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Beyond Motivation:  Dr. BJ Fogg is a scientist and professor at Stanford University, known for his work on behavior change and habit creation.  The point: Not to succeed in the new habits themselves, but rather to become better at the skills required to create these habits.  For more info Go To: tinyhabits.com For more info Go To: tinyhabits.com Strategy:

1. Make tiny behavior changes that are easy to execute 2. Combine the behavior with an already existing habit to use as an anchor 3. Decide on a celebration method for each behavior No more excuses! Little tips to start making big changes:

Examples:  After I brush my teeth, I will drink a glass of water.  After I eat my lunch, I will go for a walk around the block.  Before I go to sleep at night I will set out my workout clothes for the next day.

I This principle is based on the premise that there exists an activation barrier of sorts for activities, both positive and negative. Barriers usually lasts about 20 seconds. Achor, for example, had difficulty practicing playing his guitar for even five consecutive days due to the 20-second walk to his closet to retrieve the instrument. "20-Second Rule"

"Willpower alone is insufficient to make the right choices."  Achor says we should redirect our energies on removing the resistance— physical, mental, or emotional—to our desired behaviors.  Fogg tells his followers, "You should arrange the world around you to make your new habit easy to do."

challenge : Your challenge :  Pick ONE sustainable habit to promote a healthy active lifestyle in the new year— and apply it every day for 30 consecutive days.  Whatever it is, choose something you know will make you feel better about yourself, and you know you can do.  Focus on training the skill of building skills, rather than obsessing over specific goals.

As Cutts notes, "The next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not." So why not give it a shot?

NOBODY CAN GO BACK AND START A NEW BEGINNING, BUT ANYONE CAN START TODAY AND MAKE A NEW ENDING.