How to Maintain New Habits: The Habits You Worked So Hard to Start

You know first hand how hard it is to swap out one habit for another.  Why is that?  It's because our brain loathes change.  Even if it's for the betterment of our health, all our brain sees it as is expending extra energy, and it's job is to conserve energy.

So out do you override your brain and keep practicing your new healthy habits?

Obviously prioritizing self care is the first thing.  If you are not healthy, your family will suffer too.  We all have to accept the fact that disappointing people is a part of life and we need to do that in order to take care of ourselves.  I mean there is only so much time in our day.

Second, your habits can be flexible.  Adjusting the duration or the amount of time you give your new habit should be fluid on days where you're overloaded.

Three Ways to Maintain Your New Healthy Habits:

1. If you do absolutely have to miss a day, that's okay.  Pick it back up tomorrow. Have grace with yourself and get back on the horse ASAP.  

Pro Tip: Try your best not to skip by shortening the duration but if you do miss, be sure to resume the next day.  Studies show that more your habit becomes routine the faster your brain adopts it as the new normal and will begin to support you sticking with it.

2. If life gets so hectic and you can't break away to move your body for 15 minutes, stretch for five minutes or at least walk for that amount of time. The key is to adjust the habit to fit into your life not to skip it altogether. The best workout routine is the one that fits your schedule.

3. Make your new habits your own. For example, if you want to explore meditation on a deeper level, start exploring the many guided meditations provided for free on the app Insight Timer.

I hope you feel better knowing that there are ways to keep on the healthy path when life gets in the way.

Congratulations on your new habits.  I know how hard it is to make those changes and I'm so glad you did.

Happy Maintaining!

PS If you found this helpful, share it with a friend❤️!