It takes 21 days to form a habit and 90 days to break one. Yes, we are going to have to work harder to break those stubborn habits, but hey at least it is easier to create new ones!
The psychology of habit formation has shown that a habit is created based on your subconscious actions, and changing those behaviours is only possible when we become aware of our patterns and make a conscious effort the change them. We also need to be aware of the restrictions that our self-limiting beliefs are placing on us. I’ll give you an example:
Rhonda is clothes shopping with a friend, she is comfortable in jeans or pants and prefers to wear them. Her friend holds up a dress in Rhonda’s colour that she thinks would look really good on her. Without hesitation Rhonda says ‘I don’t wear dresses’. What she is really saying is that when she was a child someone close to her said she looked better in jeans. This innocent albeit incorrect and subconscious statement has stayed with Rhonda her entire life. That is a self-limiting belief.
Sometimes it feels like you’re a mouse stuck on the treadmill called life and you can’t see your way off. So how do we start to correct these patterns? A bit of self reflection is required so get out your pens.
Uncover the patterns and beliefs that are from your past and acknowledge how they have shaped your current existence.
Discover what you would you like to achieve that you haven’t been able to in the past.
Recover from your old ways and embrace your new direction without forgetting where you came from.