We all hear from time to time how doing certain things could be good for us,
Such as taking intentional breaths,
Practicing gratitude,
Stretching,
Taking certain supplements to improve our well-being,
Or doing a little exercise every day,
And the list goes on.
But more often than not I hear people saying how they find it difficult to get a new habit to stick,
And after trying for a day or two they give up and the good intention has fallen by the wayside.
Hello my name is Jacqueline and welcome to my Tranquil Spirits podcast.
Making a new habit stick,
Especially one we really believe can be good for us,
Can often feel like a frustrating task.
Let's take something like doing a daily meditation.
We might have heard how beneficial meditation can be,
As it helps us relax,
Gives us a moment of peace,
Or even allow for better thinking as it declutters our mind.
We start off with good intentions,
Determined to add this newfound art into our day,
But after day three or four we notice we have forgotten all about meditating,
And we make the assumption we were not meant to add it into our daily life,
Or it was too much of a chore so we forget about it altogether.
Does this have a ring of truth for you?
It may not be meditation you are trying to bring into your daily routine,
It could be anything at all,
But because most of us are busy seemingly all day long,
Instead of what should be an easy task of creating a new habit,
This becomes too complicated to even think about,
And we lose interest in it.
But what if I told you that making a new habit stick is far easier than you think?
Let me explain.
First of all,
You have to want to make this new habit part of your routine,
But because our minds are far busier than they used to be,
What with social media,
Our phones which are now mini computers,
And the hundreds of different channels we can watch on TV 24 hours each day,
Quiet time is non-existent for most,
And remembering to remember to add that new habit into our day really does become a chore,
But it doesn't have to be.
Here is a way of creating that new habit without even having to think about it.
Add the new habit onto a habit you are already committed to doing,
No doubt a habit you formed years ago without even realizing you were forming this habit.
We all have routines,
And these routines are made up of habits we just began doing,
Such as cleaning our teeth morning and night,
Or boiling the kettle first thing for our morning cuppa.
It may even be that morning stretch just as you step out of bed,
Or the yoga poses you do before bed after the warm bath you take every night to relax yourself.
Whatever your already formed habit is,
Just stack a new one onto it.
For example,
If you want to begin a new habit of gratitude to start your day because you have heard that gratitude can put you in a positive mood first thing in the morning,
Attach that to say cleaning your teeth whilst you stand at the bathroom sink doing your teeth,
Completely unable to do anything else,
In your mind think of five things you are grateful for.
You may have heard that doing simple stretches really helps to keep your body flexible,
So as you wait for the kettle to boil,
No matter the time of day,
Create a small stretching routine you can do in the moments the kettle takes to boil,
And it will soon become a habit.
No matter what new habit you want to create,
By adding it to a habit which already exists in your daily life,
You will find without very much effort or thought,
It will soon automatically become a fully formed habit.
Life changes don't have to be difficult,
Find the easy route.
Habit stacking is the easy route and a great way to bring new and fun things into your daily life which will no doubt make your life better and make you feel good.
So which new habit are you going to create today and what already formed habit are you going to stack it with?
Send me a message and let me know and if you have any other tips or tricks you use I would love to hear about those too.
Thanks for listening.
Have a beautiful day,
You deserve it and remember always follow that dream.
Thanks again for listening and I'll speak to you again soon on my next Tranquil Spirits podcast.
Bye for now.
