Change your habits - change your life

Why is it so difficult to change a habit? Is it even possible to change? Research from University College London suggests that making changes to our habits is achievable, but there are no quick fixes. 

A habit is a ‘tendency to act in a particular way’, something that we do repeatedly, often without even thinking about it. When we want to break out of our old habits, many factors come into play, so it's no wonder that we can find it difficult to change.

Why can habits be difficult to change?

Most of us want to change something in our lives; some of us have a long list of things that we have always wanted to do, going back many years, but haven’t quite got around to doing them.

Perhaps you want to give up smoking, eat more healthily, exercise more, or simply manage your time more effectively to do more of the things that you want to do.

My habits are most likely similar to yours – spending too much time working on my computer, not doing enough exercise, and (my tough one) not getting around to tidying up my garden. There always seems to be something else to do, another project takes hold, and the garden goes on the back burner.

It seems that I am not alone in this, and many of us, even though keen to change some aspect of our lives, can struggle to do so.

But there is good news: research shows that it is possible to make effective changes and that this process doesn’t have to leave you feeling swamped. It does call for some effort but this is not forever because as the change is incorporated into our lives, we no longer need to focus on it so much, and it becomes a new habit.

How long does it take to form a new habit?

Research into habit formation has found that it can take around 66 days on average for a new behaviour to become more automatic, although this varies considerably between people and behaviours.

This is a useful reminder that building a new habit can take time. If something doesn’t feel automatic after a few weeks, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have failed.

We can make some small, achievable changes that may have positive knock-on effects in other areas of our lives.

Start with small, sustainable changes

For example, I remember reading a book when I was at college called ‘Pure White and Deadly’, which was about the effects of sugar on our bodies. I decided to cut out sugar in my tea.

I used to take two teaspoons of sugar in my tea. I knew that cutting sugar out altogether, all at once, would just be too much. So I just cut down the amount of sugar in my tea, at first by half a teaspoon, after a few days I cut it down to one teaspoon, then to half a teaspoon, then to a quarter teaspoon and eventually no sugar.

Over a few weeks, I went from two teaspoons of sugar in my tea to no sugar at all.

The same principle of making small, manageable changes can be applied to other habits.

The most important thing is that if you want to change a habit, you have to change your behaviour. Here are a few simple steps to help you on your way.

• Build on what already works. What are your good habits? Look at the good habits that you have and build on these. Use your good habits and the good results you get to help with the areas that you want to work on.

• Make small, sustainable changes. Small changes may have positive knock-on effects in other areas of your life.

• Notice what gets in the way. If difficult thoughts or self-doubt arise, acknowledge them and consider what might help you take a manageable next step.

• Identify your barriers. Work out what might be stopping you from changing what could make the change easier to maintain.

• Be kind to yourself. Look after yourself as you would your best friend, and be supportive of the changes that you are making.

• Picture the change. Think about what successfully maintaining the habit might look like in your everyday life and the small actions that could help you get there.

• Find support. Get someone to support you and help keep you on track.

Finally, practise your newfound habit consistently and give yourself time to adjust. Changing an ingrained habit is not easy, but small, sustainable changes and the right support can make change feel more manageable.