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?
“Um, yes.”
→    Do I see myself doing this neck training in 5 years?
“Um, yes, of course.”
→    Do I see myself doing this neck training in 20 years?

“Um, yeah, I think so.”
Great!
The new habit has passed the long-term test.