How To Cultivate A Good Habit

It happens every year and still it takes me by surprise--the conclusion of the Tour de France. I wake up the morning after and feel the distinct void of having no reason to turn on the television. I'm always amazed at how watching the tour quickly becomes a part of my life, so much so that it's a shock when I stop doing it.

I realize now that it all happens because I cultivated the habit of watching the Tour and I did it using the same tools that I use year after year. But this year it finally hit me that I could use the same tools to cultivate any new good habit that I want to bring into my life. You can do the same, whether you want to cultivate an exercise routine or a reading regimen. Let's look at the very simple components of this habit-forming system and how you can customize it for yourself.

Consistency

Simply put, you have to do something everyday for it to become a habit. I watched the Tour de France every single day it was on. I even viewed the rest day programs so I could stay connected with any news coming down the pike (and in this Tour there was a lot!). So that's the first step for your habit: build consistency. Maybe everyday is too much for what you want to do. Start with a specific day. You could make Tuesdays your yoga day or your reading day or your rest day. But do it every Tuesday for at least two months to get the feeling it will stick. You'll want to get to the point where you'll know you miss it if you don't do it, just as I could tell from the moment I woke up that the day was different because the Tour was over. I missed it.

Support

It's easier to maintain a habit when others are helping you do it. My husband would watch some of the finishes with me or watch our son if Tain was trying to put a DVD into the TV during a crucial part of a stage! I recently presided over a Writers Challenge week for my workshop students where they had to write as much as they could in a given week. But before the challenge they had the assignment to tell their family what they would be doing and discuss what help they would need to be productive for the time. How could your family help to support your new habit?

Automatic Reminders

Sometimes its hard to keep up with a habit all on your own. Setting up automatic reminders can help. If I couldn't watch the Tour de France during the day I always had little reminders that made sure I tuned in at night. I received emails from Active.com and subscribed to a blog by one of the writers covering the Tour so that I could stay plugged in even when I was busy. During our Writers Challenge the students had to report in to the group on how they did that day. Getting the emails from everyone else served as the automatic reminders that helped each student keep his or her head in the game. Perhaps a reminder for you could be subscribing to a series of motivational emails, or a regular check-in with a friend who's supporting you in your new habit.

No Struggle

Remember this above all: Cultivating your habit should feel natural and easy. Don't make yourself feel like you're handcuffed to a ball and chain. If the new habit feels like too much of a struggle re-think it. I don't think twice about committing the time each July to the Tour. It's just something I do and it's easy and fun. Of course, one could argue, it's easy and fun because I only do it for one month. If it were any longer it might be a different story! But I don't believe that--witness the attention lavished on baseball and basketball and those seasons go way longer than one month! But if a habit is important enough to you the time won't matter and you will be the winner in the long run. Just start small--and take it one day at a time.

© 2007 Sophfronia Scott