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New year, new you?

A brand-new year always presents an ‘unsaid’ hope and positivity in our lives. This is the beginning of a blank canvas and a chapter of 365 days in which you either choose to shed off some past habits - sometimes bad - and/or develop good new ones.

It has been proven that is takes approximately 21 consecutive days to form a new habit or break an old one. Staying consistent is always one of the biggest setbacks when forming a new habit, but once it has formed, it almost comes as second nature and isn’t as much of a hassle compared to when you started.

We have compiled a list of useful hacks below to building and maintaining a good habit(s):

1. Decide for yourself
   The utmost important part of this process is developing a good habit based on a decision you have taken for yourself, chosen willingly and committed to pursuing purely for yourself.
2. Know the benefits
   Keep yourself in the loop regarding all the pros that come with forming this new habit you have decided to develop.
3. Know the sacrifices
   Make sure you know how much time, effort, comfort and other resources you might need to sacrifice before deciding to venture into this new habit.
4. Shadow your role model with this habit
   It’s important to have someone you look up to with the same habit because you will have a frame of reference and motivation to keep at it even when you don’t feel like putting in the hard work or feel discouraged.
5. Spread the word on the new habit
   Inform your friends and family that you have started a new habit. A support system for some becomes the driving force that keeps them going.
6. Write it down and say it loud
   Daily affirmations and being able to see what you have committed to will help you. Saying it out loud helps with visualising and prepping your headspace with regards to following through and achieving what needs to be done within the given time frame.
7. Reward yourself
   This is by far one of our favourite important piece of advice on this list. Every time you reach a goal or achieve a milestone of your new habit, you deservingly need to reward and celebrate yourself in some way, shape or form. Positive reinforcement is the goal of sustainable growth when it comes to building new habits.

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References
Tracy, B., n.d. 7 steps to developing good habits. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.briantracy.com/blog/personal-success/seven-steps-to-developing-a-new-habit/
Young, S. H., 2021. 18 Tricks to Make New Habits Stick. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/18-tricks-to-make-new-habits-stick.html