I often get asked how to really make a habit stick – like going to the gym, meditating or eating healthy.  The most honest answer is: just do it! But I can appreciate that is easier said than done.

In today’s vlog  I share my three top tips for making a habit or practice a permanent part of your life that is as easy to just do it as brushing your teeth everyday (and I hope my assumption that you brush your teeth every day is correct!).

Here is a brief overview for forming supportive habits and practices:

Tip #1: You must have a WHY that gets you excited!  If you are doing something because you feel like you should do it, it is not going to transform to a just do it. If you cannot find an exciting reason, find a compelling one like exercising because you want to be walking down the aisle at your child’s wedding. Use toward not away from motivation (a review on that here) so you are pulled by your vision and not pushed by judgment.  Attempting to make a habit or new practice stick while beating yourself up does not work.

Tip #2: Set up practices around it that make it enjoyable and easier to commit to.  For instance, if a daily spiritual practice is your goal, set up and decorate a nice space for yourself to do it so it enhances the experience.  Other tips are time-blocking, getting an accountability partner, and doing the practice/habit at the same time every day when you are least distracted.

Tip #3: This one is the game changer!! Commit to doing it every day for 40 days.  Spiritualists and scientists agree that something that first requires discipline becomes a habit after 40 days.  And when I say 40 days, I mean 40 days in a row so if on day 39 you forget or flake, guess what? You start over at day 1!

The key is if you are working to make something a habit, you want it to feel enlivening. If it doesn’t, go back to step one and review your vision.

Your life is your responsibility. The quality of your life is influenced by your daily practices and habits. “Just do it” is more than a Nike slogan, it is how you create habits and practices that create the life you want to live @christinhassler (Tweet this!))

I would love to support you on committing to your 40 day practice so please post what you are committing to on my blog.  Just go here.

Love,

Christine

p.s.  Did you know that 98% of 3 year olds tested at brainstorming ideas, register as ‘creative geniuses?’   By age 25, that number is 2%.

Long before our first job or relationship, we have mostly lost our creative birthright — and many don’t even know it. It shows up as feeling uninspired, stuck, seeing no solution to our problems, unable to take life, love or work to the next level, etc…but it’s really a creativity capacity issue, a problem with CQ, our creativity quotient.

That’s why learning to stretch our imaginations beyond outmoded practices is crucial, and to help you do that, my friend, Barnet Bain, is celebrating the July 7 release of his new book The Book of Doing and Being: Rediscovering Creativity in Life, Love and Work by giving away this totally free CQ Assessment Tool that will tell you instantly where you are, and get you thinking about entirely new ways of being.

Get it now as a gift and get ready to take a quantum leap in your creative re-awakening.   Go here to get it.