How To Form A New Habit More Easily
We would all like to be efficient and organized in our daily lives. And one of the ways we can do this is to start and keep going with new habits.
Charles Dehigg who is the author of the book The Power of Habit believes that forming a habit is the key to successful behavioral changes, adding that when something becomes habitual, you no longer have to go to the trouble of deciding whether or not to do it.
He points out that you can form a habit within two to four weeks so that, after just a short space of time, you can turn something new into something you feel like you have been doing all your life.
Some suggestions to set you on your way
- If you can focus on forming habits, you can bypass the need for willpower.
- If you can combine a new habit with an old habit, the latter becomes the trigger for the new habit. For example, if you always make yourself a cup of coffee at a certain time each morning, make sure to start a new habit at the same time. Coffee time then becomes a trigger for a new habit.
- Start by identifying what new habit you would like to integrate into your daily routine. Decide if the new habit is similar to other things you do in a day or provide a window of time that fits the new habit. The key is to keep the habits small with minimal disruption to your schedule.
- Avoid the temptation of doing all or nothing. By implementing small changes through stacking, you are more likely create habits that stick.
- Add your new habit to your "To Do" List for every day so that you cannot help but see it - and check it off when completed!
- Think about adding a minute of cold water at the end of your hot morning shower as this can be a great way to boost energy levels for the day ahead - and a great new habit to get into. Cold water stimulates your body's sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for your fight or flight response, making you resilient to stress.
My own experience!
On a personal note, I am supposed to do daily exercises to strengthen my knee joints and muscles because of the presence of some arthritis. It took me a long while to get into this habit but now I have a big sign on my fridge to remind me and then I ask Alexa to "time several minutes" and I use this time to do my exercises.
I also find it helpful to rub a few drops of H-Arthritis Formula onto my knees two or three times a day to relieve any discomfort and other symptoms. I have found that if I leave a bottle right next to the toilet, this acts as a good reminder!
Getting into the habit of establishing a daily or regular beauty routine can be a great idea too - to slow down the aging process while improving your skin health.
Habits for your skin health
- Number one habit is to use a gentle, fragrance-free moisturizer every day to replace the moisture and natural minerals that may have been washed away. Apply after cleansing your face or stepping out of the shower to help seal in the moisture on your skin. Gently massage into your skin using small, circular movements to help boost circulation.
- Number two habit is to place a drop of Simply Eye Serum on your ring finger and gently apply around the eye area, taking care to avoid direct contact with the eyes, using morning and evening as part of your skin care routine - but if you find it too rich in the morning, use only at night.
- Number three habit is using our Simply Neck Oil to help tone and tighten the skin on the neck as well as increase the appearance of the skin's overall elasticity. Used at night, the Oil will nourish and hydrate to minimize the development of any fine lines, wrinkles and turkey neck so that we can enjoy a smooth soft neck line - and décolletage which can be one of the first places women can show their age.
- Number four habit is to add vitamins to your skin by using our Simply Skin Vitamin Oil which is one of a kind nutritional blend of oils to feed the delicate skin on your face. Rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and Omega fatty acids, all essential for the balance and nourishment of your skin. Apply a generous amount to face (not forgetting the lips which will also benefit) just before bed as a deep nourishing moisture treatment.
SOURCES:
Mechanisms and Management of Itch in Dry Skin - PubMed (nih.gov)
Skin Care Products: Age-Appropriate Cosmetics - PubMed (nih.gov)
Pro-environmental habits: An underexplored research agenda in sustainability science - PMC (nih.gov)
Written by Jane Chitty
Jane writes for Healing Natural Oils, a producer and retailer of high-quality, all-natural treatments for a variety of conditions as well as a range of beauty products. Apart from writing about those various conditions, she also covers general health, environmental and other subjects of interest. She has lived in Kenya as well as Cape Town, South Africa and spent time in San Diego, USA. She now lives in Somerset, England with regular visits from her far-flung children and grandchildren. She is a keen gardener and enjoys growing fresh fruit and vegetables with her husband on their joint allotment. As a result, there is something available to use in the kitchen virtually all year round. Her regular posts can be found on our blog.