4 Tips To Build Healthy Habits

How to build healthy habits?

I wanna tell you a story.
About 6 months ago, I started a new healthy habit.
What habit?
Neck Training.
Here are 4 things I did — maybe you can take a cue:

1. “Figure out your motivation”
So, about 6 months ago I decided to strengthen my neck muscles.
Why?
Because I wanna preserve my voice and communicate well.
And neck training can help a lot — especially in the long term.
So, the first thing I did was figure out my real motivation.
Meaning the motivation behind that habit.

As we know, we’re motivated by one of two things:
→ The motivation to move toward something positive
→ The motivation to move away from something negative.
For example:
→ Being able to communicate well in the long run (positive)
→ Messing up my voice in the long haul (negative)
In my case, I was motivated by the first one — communicate well.
That was my motivation — my “why” associated with that habit.

2. “Start small”
Then, I asked myself:
→ What’s the easiest way for me to get this new habit going?
Or even better:
→ What’s the easiest way for me to strengthen my neck muscles?
My answer was:
→ Well, I can start with 3 sets of 15 reps of a basic exercise for the neck.
I just need:
→ a bench,
→ to lie down,
→ and move my neck up and down

3. “Take baby steps”
It’s easier to add a habit if you stack it on top of an old one, right?
For example, imagine you wanna add “positive affirmations” as a new habit.
Well, you can stack it on “brushing your teeth”.
Meaning:
→ You brush your teeth (3 minutes)
→ You say positive affirmations (2 minutes)
So, I asked myself:
→ With what current daily habit can I associate this new habit?
“Daily” is key!
It’s easier to establish a habit if we do it every single day.
So, my answer was:
→ Well, I work out every day. I can add it to my workout — at the end.
So, I decided to add 4 minutes of neck training at the end of my daily workout.

4. “Think about long term”
Thinking long term is key when establishing a new habit.
Especially if you want to establish a healthy one.
So I asked myself:
→ Do I see myself doing this neck training in 1 year
→ Do I see myself doing this neck training in 5 years?
→ Do I see myself doing this neck training in 20 years?
The new habit has passed the long-term test.

This is how I built my new habit 🙂

Stewart Life Coaching
www.edwastewart.com

504.578.0006