So, I think first of all we need to understand exactly what
motivation and habit are, why they are different and how does one become the
other. As we know, motivation is strong, when it hits us we want to jump up and
do whatever we are motivated to do right then! Carpe Diem. Seize the day. There
is no time like the present! All of these adages apply. Let’s take a plan to
begin exercise as an example. An individual will have grand plans to get out
there and begin their new exercise program…motivation is high…and all they can
see is success in reaching their goal. This is a great start, you could not ask
for a better one. Although after a while, it could be a week, it could be a
month, the initial motivation which was so strong has left us and our goals of
improving our health and fitness have fallen in a heap. It has been said – by scientists,
psychologists and physiologists- that for change to occur it takes a certain
amount of time for change to occur. What is this magical amount of time I hear
you ask! Well, there actually is no magic number in this situation, although it
has been said to be approximately 18-30 days.
In 1960, a doctor by the name of
Maxwell Maltz stated in his book Psycho-Cybernetics:
A New way to get more living out of life that it can take 21 days to
incorporate a new habit into one’s life. In this book he argued that people
take 21 days to adjust to any major life changes. Now this was based on his
observations of amputees and how they adjust to a major life change. This was
the first time that anything like this had really been written anywhere, and
this number entered the public consciousness, and has been repeated by
motivational speakers such as Jim Rohn and Tony Robbins for years.
It was over 50 years ago that this was first said, and much
has changed since then in human psychology and the study of human physiology,
so let’s bring this up to date. In Hal Elrod’s great book The Miracle Morning: the 6 habits that will transform your life, he
states that one of the biggest obstacles preventing people from implementing
and sustaining positive habits is that they don’t use the right strategy. They
don’t know what to expect and they aren’t prepared to overcome the mental and
emotional challenges that are part of implementing any new habit into their
lives. So Hal uses a 30 day strategy to implement change in our lives to create
a habit, and this is applicable to any area of our lives whether it be physical,
emotional or spiritual. Furthermore, to make this a little bit easier on us
mere human beings who can find change difficult, he breaks down the 30 days
into three 10 day phases, where each of these phases presents a different set
of challenges and mental roadblocks which enable us to stick with the new
habit.
Alternatively, some psychologists argue that for a habit to
form within us and become a regular part of our lives, it can take up to eight
weeks. All these numbers are relative, as it depends how often the practice we
want to implement into our lives and make a habit is performed or practised. If
we indulge in exercise for example 3-4 times a week in comparison to once a
week, exercise becoming a regular part of our life will happen a lot faster as
we will naturally be more inclined to do it.
So, the initial spark of motivation will become an ingrained
habit in our lives anywhere from 3-8 weeks from the point of implementation.
The main thing is that you stick with it, follow strategies that are realistic
for you to create change, and do not give up when things get hard or uncomfortable.
When we implement change into our lives, enjoy the ride
and the journey that ensues. Self-transformation is an amazing process that
changes us both internally and externally, so how can we not feel amazing!
Happy New Year!
Ben J
Sources:
The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod, 2016.
