How to Build and Maintain Long-lasting Positive Habits

Habits are behaviours which we repeat on a regular basis, they shape who we are. Building and maintaining long-lasting positive habits is a crucial skill to acquire if we hope to increase our chances of happiness, satisfaction, and success in life. Starting a new habit may be easy and exciting, but the challenge lies in our ability to keep up our habits long-term. If you have struggled to maintain your positive habits, you are not alone. There are distinct reasons why we might quit on our positive habits. These reasons include not getting the desirable results as quickly as we had hoped, becoming busy or preoccupied with other matters in life, or becoming too bored with the routine. Whatever the reason may be, below are helpful ways for increasing your chances of success in maintaining your positive habits long-term.

Focus on Shifting Your Identity

One way to ensure long-term habit maintenance is by first changing how you identify yourself. Aligning your behaviours with your identity is key. For instance, labeling yourself as a “healthy person” goes a longer way than simply focusing on the behaviours of exercising and eating well. If you do not truly embody what being a healthy person is all about, you risk giving up your healthy habits eventually. Similarly, if you want to be more comfortable or talkative in social settings, you need to first identify yourself as a “sociable person.” We give up on the behaviours that do not reflect our core beliefs about ourselves. Changing your mindset towards who you are as a person will enable you to change your behaviours and habits accordingly.

Focus on Your System

Oftentimes, we may become so purposeful and fixated on outcomes, we might miss the importance of embracing the process we are in. This can lead to becoming impatient when things do not go the way we had hoped, and we risk giving up on what we started. It is important to focus on our system instead, which involves our methods and strategies that we rely on to help us get closer to the goal. Without an effective system, goal-achieving can become a nightmare. Additionally, it is important to recognize the value of habits independently from the goal they are attached to. For instance, regularly exercising and eating well is important to maintain even when the desired weight is achieved. Embracing a healthy lifestyle for the sake of being healthy has no finish line. Adopting this mindset can help you maintain your habits long-term because you relinquish the need to fixate on specific results and instead build an unconditional appreciation for what you are doing every day. Below are ways of helping you can create a system for yourself that can set you up for lifelong success.

1. Start Small and Keep it Simple:

Break down the big habit you are trying to master into mini habits. Every little thing you do adds up and builds on your character. It is important to set yourself up for success by establishing what the building block habits look like. Making things easy and simple for yourself will help increase your odds of success. Take the following scenario as an example:

Habit: Go to the gym every morning, 5 days per week

Mini habit #1: Prepare your gym clothes the day before you are going to the gym.

Mini habit #2: Wake up at the same time every day.

Mini habit #3: Get dressed into your gym clothes.

Mini habit #4: Prepare and consume your pre-workout snack/drink.

Mini habit #5: Prepare what your exercise routine will look like before going to the gym.

Mini habits solidify the larger habit you are trying to achieve because mini habits provide momentum, direction, and purpose.

2. Be Consistent but Realistic:

Consistency is key, but do not expect perfection. It is normal to have off days, even with prominent levels of discipline and consistency. The point is to ensure your daily actions reflect the identity you have embodied and the habit you are trying to master. Allow yourself to make mistakes but do not keep repeating those mistakes. If you can maintain a growth mindset towards your mistakes, it can help keep you motivated to get back on track and not lose sight of what you are trying to achieve. Additionally, it is important to set yourself up for success by ensuring that your habits align with your lifestyle and schedule. Be mindful of how you utilize and organize your time.

3. Track Your Progress & Celebrate Small Wins:

Tracking your progress can be an effective way to stay accountable and on track as it provides you with visual cues for what you are doing. Progress tracking enables you to compare where you are at in the present to where you were, say, a month prior. It can also serve as a guide to how you want to improve or proceed moving forward. This can help keep you motivated as you witness yourself making improvements and staying committed over time. Furthermore, celebrating small wins allows you to develop an appreciation for your efforts, which can also increase your desire to stay committed, and focused.

4. Plan for Obstacles:

It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of adopting a new habit and overlook the importance of preparing for potential obstacles down the road. Knowing how to address obstacles is key to ensuring long-term success. After a while, habits get old and may feel less exciting or attractive. You might find yourself starting to make excuses or allow yourself to get wrapped up with other matters in your life. Produce a plan which helps you address the possible obstacles that you might face.

Sometimes, the best way to overcome an obstacle is by avoiding it. For instance, let us say you are trying to stop snacking on junk food every evening. Rather than continuously relying on your willpower to turn down every temptation, you are better off preserving your energy by keeping junk food out of your home altogether. Moreover, you can keep fruits directly in your line of sight if you want to adopt the habit of healthy snacking instead. Your environment plays a crucial role in the success of your habit forming and maintenance. The more your environment is conducive to what you are trying to achieve, the more likely your success will be. However, not every obstacle can be avoided. Depending on what your target habit is, you may sometimes need to work on your mindset, emotion regulation, intrinsic motivation, time-management skills, structure, and routine, etc. Asking others for help and support can also help you address obstacles more effectively.

5. Have an Accountability Partner:

Having someone hold you accountable can help increase your chances of following through with your commitment and staying motivated. This is because sharing your goals with someone else creates a sense of obligation, thereby reducing the likelihood of procrastination. It is important to choose an accountability partner that you can trust and rely on to give you the push you might need on days when it just feels too difficult or inconvenient. Ensure that you regularly check in with your accountability partner to help you stay consistent and on track. Regular check-ins are also great opportunities to celebrate your progress, work through challenges, and receive constructive feedback about how to self-improve. In turn, this can help the process feel more engaging and sustainable for you.

6. Reflect and Adjust:

Constant self-reflection is key to ensuring you continue to progress and succeed. Self-reflecting is an opportunity for you to identify what has been working well and what needs to be changed in your methods. It is important to maintain a growth mindset in your reflections so that you can be open to learning from your mistakes and setbacks. As you continue to progress, it is inevitable that adjustments be made to continuously ensure your approach is effective and relevant. Self-reflection also allows you to stay connected to yourself and understand your needs on a deeper level. Without staying connected and intentional, you may lose sight of the importance of your habits and your goals altogether.

Embrace Boredom and Discomfort

Embracing boredom and discomfort is a crucial part of sustaining positive habits long-term because the most amount of growth occurs when you learn to push through obstacles and difficulties. Positive habits can feel tedious over time, which can lead to reduced motivation levels. In this case, it is important to stay disciplined and learn to push through feelings of discomfort. Staying focused and disciplined during tough or inconvenient times helps you to combat the temptation to give in to immediate gratification. It can also be helpful to remember that discomfort is not always negative. Once you truly accept that feelings of boredom and discomfort are natural parts of the process, you will become better equipped to manage them more effectively. In turn, this will help you to stay consistent with your habits and reach your goals more successfully.