-The best way to improve your self-control is to see how and why you lose control.
—Kelly McGonigal
Most of us could benefit from setting brighter lines in our personal and professional lives. A bright-line rule indicates clear interpretation and little to no wiggle room. A simple way to create better habits is by removing yourself from an environment that triggers all of your bad habits, giving you the opportunity to make it easier for you to disown bad habits and form healthier ones. Approach an habit that is easy to say no to and build habits that are easy enough for you to accomplish without little to no motivation. For example instead of starting with 60 push-ups per day start with 5 pushups per day. Instead of trying to meditate for 20 minutes per day, start by meditating for 1-2 minutes per day. Increase your habits gradually, In small ways make a difference to see improvements, rather than trying to do something amazing from the beginning, start small and gradually improve. Along the way, your willpower and motivation will increase, which will make it easier to stick to your habit for good.
Take some time to evaluate what will prevent your old habits from reoccurring, rather than believing you are the “type of person who doesn’t like working out” or the “type of person who is unorganized” break down your habits into smaller pieces and ponder about which areas are preventing you from becoming consistent with everything you do.Simply ask yourself what are some things that are likely to cause you to get off track? How can you plan to work around these issues? Or at least figure out how you can bounce back quickly from your old habits and get back on track. You just need to be consistent, not perfect. Focus on building the identity of someone who never intentionally misses a habit more than once. Make your goal clear and concise and stay on track. Once you do something without thinking about it and your persistence is effortless then you have adapted a new habit into your life.