How to Form Good Habits and Set Yourself Up for Success

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Last updated on December 29th, 2023 at 12:00 pm

When it comes to changing habits, sticking to new ones always seems to be easier said than done. Whether it’s a new year or you feel it is the perfect time to change habits in your life for the better and create a new you, don’t get off on the wrong foot.

From starting an at-home workout routine to eating healthier or organizing your life, you want to ensure you are setting yourself up for success. Read more to learn how to form good habits and create the routine you desire to be successful.

Positive and Negative Habits

We, as human beings, are a product of habits, both positive and negative. Everyone, whether we like it or not, has hundreds of patterns that are activated daily. These range from taking a shower to watching a particular television show to getting ready for work.

Every day we consciously and unconsciously are performing habits. Whatever you call them, whether it be your routines, rituals, or behaviors, habits are a part of us all.

Habits can be divided into three different areas. First, are those habits that we don’t notice anymore because they are deeply embedded in our daily lives. These habits include brushing our teeth or tying our shoelaces.

The second kind of pattern is those that are healthy for us and that we tend to build upon. These kinds of habits include activities such as eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly.

The third kind of habit involves those habits that are seen as unfavorable, like overspending, smoking, and procrastination.

Taking the Journey

In most cases, bad habits are formed in our childhood. Others are created as a result of abuse, peer pressure, or imitation. All of these habits have a singular goal to suppress your stressful situation and create the illusion that everything looks alright.

Fortunately, you aren’t alone in your desire to break your bad habits. Just about everyone in the world has an undesirable habit that they would like to break. What matters most is what you do with your bad habits.

The biggest problem is not in having a bad habit but in allowing it to take control of your life while you sit back and do nothing. All you need to do to break your bad habits and form new ones is to start small.

How to Form Good Habits

Step #1 – Start Small

The slightest adjustments in your daily routine can dramatically alter the outcome of your life. When you want to form good habits to replace bad ones, you need to start small and find a manageable habit that you will be able to continue for life. You don’t want to start with overly ambitious, unrealistic habits because you are just setting yourself up for failure. Don’t try to reinvent yourself all at once.

For example, if your goal is to get and stay fit through regular exercise, you don’t want to vow to do an hour of cardiovascular training, four times a week if you’re overweight, out-of-shape, or sedentary. Instead, start with a habit that you know you can do and don’t mind doing, and build upon the habit over time.

Step #2 – Decide When

If you want to be successful in forming good habits, then you need to decide when you will perform the new habit. You want to try to link this new habit to the end of a routine that you have already established. Typically, you want to try and plan your new habit in the morning when you have the energy.

Willpower fatigue is a real issue, making it increasingly harder to resist the temptation to forego your planned routine. Give the morning routine a try, even if you don’t consider yourself a morning person.

Step #3 – Use a Trigger

Just like triggers can cause you to develop a bad habit, you can also use them to help you form a new habit. For example, your trigger might be something that you do habitually, like brush your teeth, or it might be something that happens regularly every day, like commercials interrupting a TV show. Here’s an example of how you can use a trigger to form a new habit.

• After I brush my teeth, then I’ll do ten minutes of yoga.
• When a commercial comes on, then I’ll do five pushups at the kitchen counter.

Step #4 – Change Your Environment

Making changes to your environment will make it much easier to follow your new habit. For example, if you want to create a habit of working out first thing in the morning, keep your shoes and exercise clothes near the bed.

If you’re going to drink more water, fill up a pitcher with the amount of water you want to drink daily and place it in the refrigerator the night before. Seeing your exercise clothes or water in the fridge is a visual cue that will help you practice your new habit.

Step #5 – Visualize

Spend time picturing your daily routine, not just your wished-for results. Visualizing your anticipated results can be incredibly motivating. A study conducted by UCLA found that visualizing yourself achieving your goal can help in forming a new habit, but only if you also imagine how you will meet your goal. You need to picture yourself actually doing the daily routine that will ultimately help you achieve your goal.

Step #6 – Use the “If ~ Then” Strategy

Nothing ever goes as planned. This means you need to develop an “if ~ then” strategy to determine what you will do if your habit routine gets interrupted. First, you need to think about the situations that are likely to pop up to interfere with your schedule.

Then you need to figure out what you will do for each scenario. For example, “If it rains and I am unable to go for my daily jog, then I will put on an exercise video and work out for 20 minutes.”

Step #7 – Reward Yourself

Every day that you successfully practice your new habit reward yourself. Use positive self-talk or give yourself a pat on the back.

To form new habits, you must repeat your actions. You will want to repeat actions that make you feel good. Giving yourself rewards when you successfully practice your new habit will help you better enjoy creating and sticking to the new habit.

A Habit is Built Up Over Time

Good habits are great for changing your life, becoming happier, and reaching your goals, but it is not a fast process. Take your time when changing your habits. Start with changing just one habit, getting used to it, then moving on to the next.

It may take you a month or longer before you are ready to embark on the journey to break your bad habits. What’s important is that you don’t take too long to start on the journey so that you don’t continue to find comfortable living in your status quo.

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