Wouldn’t it be nice if everything came to us naturally? We wouldn’t have to worry about working out, eating nutritious foods and getting our errands done; everything would just be done automatically. Unfortunately life is not that simple and to achieve our goals, whether the goal is losing weight or getting to work on time, we must contribute some action. You can remove some of the struggle in accomplishing your goals by simply programming your behaviors as new habits. We use habits as tools everyday in our life without even realizing it. For example we use the habit of washing our hands before and after meals to ensure our health and safety. Sometimes people use the wrong type of habits to achieve a certain goal and soon realize that the end result was the exact opposite of what they originally wanted. You can initiate a new habit with a little bit of discipline that involves little effort to sustain. Here are some tips on creating new habits as well as committing yourself to them.

Journaling the Habit

Start by writing down the benefit or what you hope to accomplish by installing these new habits. Secondly write 3 actions that you must take (or rather habits to implement) that will lead you closer to your goal. Do the tasks on an everyday basis for one month while keeping a daily must do list and checking off the date the task was done.

Commit to Thirty Days

It takes time for habits to be firmly incorporated in your life. Four weeks of continuous repetition is ample time to include a habit as part of your routines. If you can make it through the first 30 days, it naturally becomes second nature and much easier to sustain.

Setup a Trigger

Since you have to remember the action at the time you want to do it, set up some type of trigger for yourself. You don’t want to get to the end of your day and remember that you were supposed to go for a ½ hour long morning jog. You can make it easier for you to remember by setting up an alarm, leaving notes for yourself or asking friends to remind you. Establishing a set time and place will also help you to remember to take action. Also if only for the first few weeks, try completing your tasks in the same place and at the same time until it becomes a familiar routine.

Make it Daily

When you try to take action only 2 or 3 times per week it becomes much more difficult to transform your action into a habit. For the first few weeks ensure that you stay committed to your action list on an everyday basis. If you want to start reducing your stress, meditate every day for the first few weeks and check it off on your calendar. When you consistently commit yourself to doing these tasks everyday then eventually your mindset will change.

Be Imperfect

Don’t expect your initial attempts of achieving your goal and changing your habits to be an immediate success. It took me a great deal of time before I started exercising regularly and of course now I love it and it has become a normal part of my day. Try your best, but don’t beat yourself up if you happen to fall off the wagon along the way. Just get back up and pick up where you left off.

Reward Yourself

Celebrate all your successes even if you think it may be silly or small and even if you have not reached your ultimate goal. If your goal was to lose 20 pound by implementing healthy living habits and at the end of the 30 days you lost 15 pounds instead of 20 then go out and buy yourself a new outfit anyway and do something that motivates you to go further. You can also post your accomplishments on your Facebook or Twitter account as well as share them with your close and personal friends.