Time to get used to. How habits are formed. methods of forming a new habit

If it were enough to gather the will into a fist and stick to a new behavior for only 21 days for the habits to become permanent, everyone would be happy.

In about six months, the world would be close to perfection. But that did not happen.

21 days is just one of the myths that we humans are so willing to believe.

I have a whole list of qualities that I would like to possess, to form a habit. For example, early awakening, proper nutrition and many others.

I don't think you have any less. Someone may want to quit smoking or start some useful business. But why are these habits still at the planning stage? It's not about time!

Time to change life

The popular belief that it takes 21 days to form a habit comes from the experience of plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz. In 1950, he noted that it takes at least 21 days for patients to get used to a new appearance or amputation.

Maltz suggested that changes in the psyche occur in at least 21 days. During this time, a mental image is formed that overshadows the person's past habits. In 1960, his book "Psychocybernetics" was published, and this idea penetrated the masses.

The world started talking about “21 days” as a kind of unchanging “deadline”, beyond which the result awaits us. But after a while, instead of success, people got disappointed. Few managed to change themselves.

Not 21 days?

Decades later, psychologists from University College London decided to test how much time it actually takes to form new habit.

They studied the behavior of 96 participants for 12 weeks. Someone had to drink a bottle of water during lunch, others worked out 15 minutes before dinner.

On average, according to their data, a habit is formed in two months (66 days). However, for each person, depending on the type of habit, the amount of time required varies widely.

Psychologists say that it can take from 18 to 254 days. It's not three weeks, it's eight months!

Look at the root

But I think that not everyone will be able to change themselves in eight months. Or a year or a year and a half. Maybe it's not even about time. Then what?

It seems to me that among the factors necessary for establishing a habit, there is no time at all. There is the strength of desire, the degree of thinking and the seriousness of the necessary changes.

When we talk about a habit, we mean something useful that will help us rise above our former self. No one wants to deliberately develop bad habits.

Bad habits are acquired automatically, and it's not difficult. It is worth a little gape, and that's it!

Good habits are always an overcoming that requires psychological and physical effort.

Going up is always harder than going down

Psychological forces are needed to make these changes permanent. And the more serious changes are coming, the more strength is needed.

But sometimes it comes naturally. There are people who, after serious life vicissitudes, immediately get rid of their bad habits. And they themselves note that this happened easily.

Someone after reading a certain book becomes a vegetarian in a day, someone quits smoking. And it happens naturally. This happens when the degree of thinking of a person rises sharply.

For him, a new habit immediately becomes part of his worldview. And he does not need to count 21 or 66 days.

You may want some changes, but not be ready for them. This, for example, applies to those who start smoking again after a while.

His volitional efforts have been exhausted, and he himself has not yet changed dramatically to make the new habit natural. Then he rolls back again.

So I want to believe in 21 days, but, unfortunately, everything is much more complicated. Going up is always harder than going down.

Maxwell Maltz was a famous plastic surgeon in the fifties of the twentieth century. And one day he discovered a strange pattern.

When Maltz performed an operation - for example, to correct the nose - he noticed that it took about 21 days for patients to get used to the new face. And when a patient's arm or leg was amputated, most patients also experienced phantom pain for about 21 days until they adjusted to the new situation.

This experience made Maltz remember personal experience getting used to changes and new behavior. He realized that it also took him about 21 days to form a new habit.

Maltz wrote about the experience and said:

“These and many other frequently observed phenomena tend to show that it takes a minimum of 21 days for the old mental image to dissipate and be replaced by a new one».

And that's when the problem arose.

In the decades that followed, Maltz's work influenced nearly every self-help professional from Zig Ziglar to Brian Tracy to Tony Robbins. And as in the game of "broken phone" - the more people retold the story of Maltz, the more people began to forget what he said: "at least 21 days." The quote was shortened and it turned out like this:

"It takes 21 days to form a habit."

So a well-known myth spread in society that it takes 21 days (or 30 days or another magic number) to create a habit.

Dangerous Lesson: If enough people repeat something enough times, then everyone else starts believing it.

It's easy to see why the 21-Day Myth has become so widespread. It's short enough to inspire us and long enough to be believable. Who wouldn't love the idea of ​​changing their lives in 3 weeks?

But the problem is that Maltz simply observed what was going on around him and didn't state it as a fact. Moreover, he assured that it was the minimum amount of time necessary to adapt to change.

But what is the real answer?

How long does it actually take to create new habits? What does science say about this?

And what does all this mean for us?

Science provides the answer. And as always, he is quite unexpected ...

University College London decided to find out the exact answer.

96 participants were asked to choose a new habit they would like to acquire. Most were health-related, such as "eating a piece of fruit with lunch" or "jogging 15 minutes after dinner."

All 84 days of study they went to the site and left a small report: did they complete the action, and how automatically did it feel.

Doing an action without thinking - known in science as "automaticity" - turns out to be the main driver of habits. And it helps illuminate the real question: How long does it take to actually form a habit?

On average, participants who provided sufficient data habit formation took 66 days.

Of course, there were significant differences in how long the habit took to form depending on what exactly needed to be done.

Those who simply had to drink a glass of water after breakfast achieved maximum automatism after about 20 days.

Those habituated to eating fruit at dinner took at least twice as long to form the habit.

The habit of exercising has become the most difficult.

"50 squats after morning coffee" did not become a habit for any of the participants.

"Walking 10 minutes after breakfast" became a habit for several participants after 50 days.

When the researchers combined the results into a single graph, they found a relationship curve between habit and automatism rather than a straight line.

Early repetitions were most beneficial for establishing a habit, and the benefits gradually decreased over time.

It's like climbing a mountain. First there is a steep climb and you quickly move forward.

Then the climb flattens out, and the closer you are to the top, the smaller the increase in height with each step.

Some of us find it harder than others

The decrease in the rate of consolidation was particularly pronounced among some participants for whom habit formation was particularly difficult. So much so that researchers were surprised at how slowly some habits form:

Although the study lasted only 84 days, by extrapolating the curves, it was found that some habits may require up to 254 days to form - most of the year!

Conclusions - inspiring and not so

What does this study show?

1. Often, creating a habit takes a lot longer than we think..
   This explains why we so often give up what we started. For example, running in the morning, or eating healthier, or not breaking down or screaming over nothing. You just need more time! And you just need to understand it, and be ready for it.
2. 21 days is enough to create a habit if it's something very simple. For example, drink a glass of water after breakfast.
3. Anything more complex will take longer. And in some activities, much, much more. Count on 50-60 days and even more. Sometimes it may take a whole year.
4. For some of us, habits are especially difficult.
   In this case, you need to start with something very simple. And understand that you may have to spend more time. Practice, so to speak, on cats, understand the mechanics of the process and what works for you. And then move on to something more complex.

I can tell you from my own experience that by practicing different habits, mastering some and failing others, you will understand how it works, and over time you can learn to develop habits much easier and with greater success.

Because habit is not something supernatural. It's just a matter of perseverance and "deliberate practice." Aristotle warned us about this:

We are what we constantly do. Perfection, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.

In the end, it doesn't matter how many days it takes you to form the habit you want - 50 or 500. One way or another, you can do it.

All you have to do is start from day one and repeat over and over again. Forget the numbers and just do your job for today.

Hello my dear readers! We live, improve and constantly want to change something in our lives. Do you know the feeling when you want something new? Sweater, phone, chocolate? Or maybe a lifestyle? Material desires are very easy to fulfill. But changing lifestyles, habits and attitudes is a much more difficult question. But today we will figure out how much a habit is developed and where to start.

21 day theory

I think many of you have heard that it takes three weeks to form a habit. If this is true, then you can radically change your life in a short time.

However, is this true? Will such a short period of time be enough? And how long does it take to form a habit? To get started, understand

Habit Research

The theory itself sounds like this: if you do something regularly for 21 days, then this action is postponed in the subconscious and then performed automatically. Thus, people quit smoking, lose weight, acquire hobbies. Don't believe? Search the search engine for reviews of this theory. But not now, but after you read the article. Scientists have worked hard on this issue, trying to prove the veracity of the theory. People who undergo plastic surgery get used to their new look in 21-25 days.

But the stunning experiment with astronauts breaks all doubts. A group of 20 people wore glasses that turned everything upside down for 21 days. As a result, the human brain adapted and began to perceive the world around us normally as if nothing had happened.

How the process goes: from formation to sustainability

However, there is a small nuance. In 21 days, a habit can only be formed. But it will take 90 days for it to become sustainable. Moreover, if you break even for one day, you will have to start all over again. You need to be patient and come up with motivation.

The following is very important! You will get used to doing something new only when you understand the benefits of it. If you start playing sports just because it is fashionable, nothing will come of it. But when you realize that your health will become better from this and you will feel more cheerful, then playing sports will become a character trait and will enter your lifestyle.

Conclusion: any habit should be useful and bring pleasure, physical and moral.

Let's say you decide tomorrow jog in the mornings. But forcing yourself to do this is not so easy! After all, it is almost impossible to drastically change your daily schedule. Therefore, let's figure out what methods you can develop and strengthen a new habit and how to work on yourself further.

7 Methods to Form a New Habit

Working on new skills requires perseverance and self-control. One desire is not enough. There are several methods to help simplify the task:

1.Check

Deciding to do something is already a big step. Don't set goals that will drastically change your lifestyle. First, tell yourself what you will try. And if you don't like it in 21 days, you stop doing it. So the efficiency of working on yourself will increase significantly.

2.List

If you want to change something, but haven't decided exactly what it is, make a list of options. Then, next to each, write down its benefits and think about whether it will be necessary for you and whether it will bring pleasure. Choose the one you want and start with the easiest.

3.Plan

To do something, it is important to know how. Make up detailed plan actions.

4.Visualization

This is a must when working on a new habit. It will be easier for you if you depict your achievements on paper. You will see what you have achieved and how much is left. Any method will do: notes on the phone, a notepad, and even a poster on the floor of the wall.

5.Time

In order for the subconscious mind to quickly adopt new skills and actions, try to perform them at the same time every day.

6. Perseverance

It has already been said that after the time has passed, you can quit mastering the skill if it does not suit you. But you can not do this after a couple of days and even a week. After all, only in three weeks at least you will understand yours or not. So be patient and be patient again! At the same time, test your willpower.

7.Motivation

To achieve a goal, a simple “I want” is not enough. You need motivation to have something to please yourself. For example, promise to buy yourself something after 21 days. Or give yourself small gifts every day - candy or a trip to a cafe.

Conclusion

Often, in order to achieve important goals in life, a person needs to acquire new habits. How to do it right?

Surely each of us at least once in a lifetime faced with the need to acquire a new habit. It can be anything: getting up early, eating healthy, exercising in the morning, a variety of workouts, etc. It all depends on the goals that you set for yourself, and the methods by which you plan to achieve these goals.

And, as practice shows, it is not so easy to start a new, especially useful, habit. Here, it seemed, for three days I get up at five in the morning - and now every day will be the same. And here it is not. After a few days of “exemplary behavior”, it’s worth oversleeping one single time - and now, on you, the habit is gone.

Another well-known example for many ladies is diets. When you endure, you endure two days, three, four, and on the fifth ... at night you find yourself near the refrigerator, devouring rolls with sausages. Familiar? But I quite seriously decided: I will not eat junk food! Only vegetables and fruits! Why doesn't it work? Let's figure it out.

So, first you need to decide what is a habit? It seems to be a familiar word, but everyone interprets it in their own way.

AT general view, a habit is a certain pattern of behavior that has developed over time, the implementation of which becomes a need. This is some kind of “immutable truth” that is operating in your life at this time. And to abandon it or change it for something more suitable, as you think, is sometimes not at all easy.

It's like quitting smoking. It seems that there is nothing complicated - you woke up in the morning, and you no longer smoke. But why then do so many people fail to quit? What's stopping them? I even remembered an anecdote on this topic: “I don’t understand how people can’t quit smoking? I've quit a hundred times already!"

But at the same time, thousands of people around us are successfully “getting” new good habits for themselves. And they succeed. Perhaps they know something that we do not know? Let's try to open the curtain.

Stages of habit formation

The most important thing to always remember is that desire alone is not enough to develop a habit. Of course, it is very important to understand what you really want, but at the same time you need to work, act.

Here are the steps for developing a habit:

1. Making a decision. This is a very important stage, it is the starting point of habit formation. At this stage, a person asks himself questions: “What do I want? How can I achieve this? What habits can help me with this? ”, And, after determining the right habit decides to make it for himself.

At this stage, the main thing is not to fall into the trap of "unfounded promises" to yourself, because in this case the decision will remain just in words, without reinforcement by action.

2. One-time action. If you have made a decision, for example, to get up early, do it at least once. Get moving.

3. Repeat two days in a row. This is more difficult than getting up early once. It will take some effort on your part.

4. Repeat daily for a week. Such a task is already more difficult, especially if you take into account the social factor - there are no days off in the formation of habits, so you have to get up early on both Saturday and Sunday.

5. Repeat for 21 days. This is considered the minimum time to form a habit. If it turned out not to “move out” - this is already a great reason to be proud of yourself!

6. Repeat within 40 days. During this time, according to scientists, the habit is developed and fixed by 100%, until the opposite is developed. After this period, you can already relax a little - the usual thing will turn out easily, without effort and "forcing" yourself.

And why, in fact, exactly 21 days is necessary for the formation of a habit? Why not 10, not 30, not 50? Who came up with this number?

As it turned out, given number has a scientific basis. An interesting experiment was conducted in the USA. Each member of the created experimental group (20 people participated in total) was given special glasses, the lenses of which turned the image upside down. Participants in the experiment had to wear them all the time, 24 hours a day.

After a certain time, the brains of the participants learned to flip the image itself, and began to perceive it as normal. There was an adaptation of the brain to inverted pictures. The peak of such coups fell precisely on the twenty-first day.

But as soon as people stopped wearing these glasses for at least one day, the brain returned to normal work, and it took 21 days to flip the image again!

Thus, during the experiment, it was found that the formation of a habit occurs in 21 days. But each pass brings us back to the first day. Even if in fact he is the twentieth.

What about "breaks"?

Undoubtedly, a person who has a very strong motivation to develop a habit, will find the strength in himself not to “break loose”. For example, if you need to get to work by 8 in the morning, and get at least an hour, then you will have to get up no later than 6 hours, even if you are a hopeless “owl”. But, if you really like the work, you get enough moral and material satisfaction from it, most likely, you will easily develop the habit of getting up early. And no special coercion is needed.

But, if there is no very high motivation in your case, it is very easy to break loose. I overslept once, and off we went. One cake is not scary. And two, three, four ... and now there is no habit.

What can be advised in this case? The recipes are not new at all:

1. Work with motivation. If you want to form a new habit, knowing that "this is how it should be," you will not deceive your brain with such a formulation. He will answer you: “Who needs it? To me? What for? I have a good life as it is,” and he will be right.

Most people tend to do only what is necessary, what cannot be done without. Why improve something that already works?

To deal with this situation, think for yourself good motivation. Realize for yourself what this or that new habit will give you. What prospects await you in the future thanks to her? How will your life improve? How much brighter and richer will it become? You must imagine this to yourself as clearly and understandably as possible. Only in this way will you really want to achieve, firstly, your goals, and secondly, fixing the habits leading to them.

2. Follow the regularity. Even if you do something for 21 days, but at the same time skip the fifth, eighth, twelfth and twentieth, this is still not habit formation. Each pass devalues ​​the previous effort spent. You have to start again from the first day. Therefore, try to still hold out all these days without "truancy".

3. Put in enough effort. Nobody said it was easy. On the contrary, it will most likely be very difficult. Connect all your willpower, and victory will definitely be yours! After all, you realize why you need it, what it will lead to, which means that you will probably have enough strength and patience to achieve the desired results and not give up!

In general, the process of forming habits can be very exciting and interesting. The main thing is to correctly prioritize and firmly go towards your goals.

All successful people managed in due time to put habits to their service. And in order to add more luck and prosperity to your life, you should heed the advice " successful world this." And the recommendations are:

1. Plan. Make a plan or schedule for the day, week, month, year. Hourly daily planning helps to avoid "time holes" - wasting precious hours on unnecessary, non-constructive, leading to nothing. But for the formation of habits, plans are very useful.

2. Enter several habits at once. Wholesale is not only cheaper, but also easier. For example, get up early and exercise. Or add a contrast shower as well. All these habits will begin to be closely intertwined with each other, and by doing one thing, you will automatically begin to do the second.

3. Challenge yourself sometimes. Test yourself for stamina and endurance. Who said you can't, can't handle it? It wasn't there! Prove to yourself what you are capable of. Nothing stimulates the formation of good habits like an exciting competition, but not with someone from the outside, but with yourself! You will not notice how, in parallel with the development of a new habit, such important qualities, as perseverance in achieving goals, discipline, the ability to self-control.

4. Strive for continuous development and self-improvement. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Learn something new, work on yourself, and these grains will bring a good harvest.

5. Periodically go on an "information diet." This means stop watching TV and aimlessly "surfing the net". Read and watch what brings you closer to the goal, helps your professional growth and development, enriches you. There is a lot of negativity in the media. Think: do you need it?

In any case, if you do not live alone in the forest, complete isolation from the world is unlikely to threaten you. If something out of the ordinary happens, you will definitely be informed about it. But the nerves will be more intact. As, however, and productive time.

6. Be sure to include physical activity in your life. Even a short exercise in the morning is not just a good habit that ensures your health. It is also a huge contribution to the energy bank, bringing daily dividends in the form of a charge of vivacity and strength necessary to perform important tasks. I'm not talking about the fact that you have to forget about drowsiness, malaise and the phrase: "I have no strength ...".

7. Smile! You have probably noticed that successful people always make a positive impression on others. First of all, it is the merit of a smile. The ability and desire to smile is a good, healthy habit. Stand in front of a mirror every morning and “hold a smile” for 3 minutes. Over time, the smile will begin to "turn on" automatically. However, this is what you need! Just 3 minutes a day will help you become successful person. Isn't that a reason to try?

All these simple tips designed to make your life better. After all, if this does not happen, then why try, what to strive for? Good habits help to live not only longer, but also brighter, more efficient, richer. Agree, worthy pay for something to work a little?

The habits you need and a happy life!