How To Build (and Keep) Good Habits

We are creatures of habits. It can be hard to start and stick with something that may be out of the norm to us or out of our comfort zone.

Think about the healthy habits you would like to incorporate into your daily routine. Drinking enough water throughout the day, exercising daily, learning something new, and spending time in nature, to name a few examples.

Use these top tips below instead of throwing in the towel. We want to help you build, and keep, good habits that will last the rest of the year, and hopefully, a lifetime!

Create A Plan

Have you ever heard the saying “failure to plan, is a plan to fail?”

This is especially true when it comes to building long-lasting habits. Before diving straight in, spend some time defining your goals and the habits you’d like to create. Make sure to write your goals down. This can help you digest them and make them ‘more official’.

The longer you go without performing the healthy habit, the harder it gets to keep up with it. Get planning!

Start Small

Like many things, if you try to go from zero to a thousand in a short period of time, you more than likely won’t get the results you want. You may also give up sooner that you should.

Think about the smaller actions you can do that will help you reach your goal. Rather than trying to do something absolutely amazing from the start, think about the smaller habits you can do and they will improve along the way.

Your willpower and motivation will also increase, making it much easier to stick to your new habit long-term.

Be Consistent

This doesn’t mean being perfect. Consistency is so important when it comes to taking on something new into your life and routine. When you repeat the same habit over a period of time, it becomes automatic and you don’t even need to think about it.

Focus on building the identity of someone who never missed a habit twice!

Consistency > Perfection.

Talk Positively To Yourself

Talk to yourself like you would talk to someone you love. Right?

Positive self-talk can help build your confidence and self-esteem, feel more in control of the events in your life, and achieve your goals.

If for some reason, something comes up and you weren’t able to continue with your new habit, that’s okay! But it’s important to bounce back from the setback you experienced. Occasionally forgetting to do a habit won’t throw you off course, as long as you pick right back up the next day!

At the Flourish Project, we love to set our young people a challenge, to speak a phrase of affirmation over themselves. We want to encourage you to try and do so every time you brush your teeth, so you have a self-esteem boost.

Stick to this habit and you’ll notice a big difference in your confidence each day!