Have you ever wondered how long it takes to break the old habits and switch them with new ones? I think that most of you heard about 21 days theory. Otherwise than, is it really possible to change customs just in 21 days? The habits that took years to build, don’t take a day to change – Susan Powter. So how long does it take to break a habit? Science provides the answer.
Do something today that your future self will thank you for
If you wanna change your life, first you should start by changing small habits because they create our daily routine. Do you ever catch yourself standing at the fridge when you are not hungry? Have you ever eat something in the evening what was bad for you? Do you remember the situation when you were creating many excuses not to go to the gym or maybe you have a problem with procrastination and you believe you can’t do anything with it? It is not just you. All of us have bad habits and that’s ok. The most important thing is to notice our customs and if some of them decrease the quality of our life maybe it would be good to change them. Now, the trick is to stop justifying our poor choices and rewrite the script so we define to where we want to be.
21-day myth
Does it really take only 21 days to create a new habit? I mean, 21 days task completion and voila, a new habit is formed! Unfortunately, I have bad news for you. The popular theory created by Dr. Maxwell Maltz in 1960 is inaccurate. The newest research shows that the average time to anchor a specific habit (eating, exercise or other) is 66 days. But the range is from 18 to 254 days because we are different. It is related to our personality, flexibility, mental toughness, and other psychological factors. Maybe it is not good news for you when you want to change your eating or exercise habits but you shouldn’t feel bad when it takes longer than one month for you. The most important is the result. Just give yourself more time!
Why 21-day is also a good option?
I believe that twenty-one days trial is better than nothing. The theory gained popular also because it is not so difficult to do something for 21 days. We all know it’s not easy to break old habits but it is easier to replace them with new customs. Maybe 21 days would be a good beginning to start with new behavior and after those three weeks it would be easier to continue a new habit. People’s cognitive control resources are limited so it is smart to focus on one habit and work on it. Sometimes the 21-day challenge it could be also fun for you. It depends on the personality but people who are achievement-orientated or openness to experience will do better with a challenge like that.
New 3 weeks challenge
People develop themselves the whole life. Every day we learn new things and we achieve new knowledge. Nobody is perfect but it is good to improve our lives. The quality of life is crucial because when you are happy, self-confident and fulfilled you are more efficient with your professional career and personal life. Today we are starting a new 21-day challenge on my Instagram: eat clean, train dirty 🙂 Only 21 days left till May and barbecue season is coming so I think it’s a good time for changing unhealthy habits. People expect that creating new habits should be easy, but be honest it’s not. In fact, greatness requires sacrifice, but I believe it is worth it!