Tag Archives: building a habit

January 13, 2023 · 9:59 am

“Habit”

Practical Psychology

I think I’ve finally done it. Oddly enough, I’m convinced I’ve done it because I HAVEN’T been able to exercise lately and I am thinking about it and MISSING it. YES! You read that right. I AM!

In my former life, The fact that I’ve not been able to continue my ‘however-many-days-in-a-row’ streak and continue putting starts on my calendar would have caused me to give it up. My current feelings are more mature (yeah, I know – hard to believe), but I’m simply looking forward to feeling good enough to be able to do a session of yoga. Each day I’ve been closer, and this afternoon might be the time I can do it again. And also, hopefully, when I’m able to do that, I’d like to start with my alternating warm-up and weights videos one day and elliptical trainer the next again.

I’m writing this day down on my calendar because it’s hard to believe that I’m not having an out-of-body experience or something. It doesn’t MATTER that I haven’t been able to keep up my ‘streak.’ I won’t even keep track of it anymore. The IMPORTANT thing is that I’m doing ONE DAY AT A TIME.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE – I just received a text from Patty, Linda’s daughter. She said that Kay had called her and said she was sick and wouldn’t be at Lunch Bunch today. Patty is out of town and said that Linda wouldn’t be there, either. I told my husband that Lunch Bunch was called off for the week. He said, “We could still go to the Waffle House.” I thanked him for the offer, but told him (again) that I was really trying to eat right and that when we had a chance to do that, we should, and that I would rather just stay home today and eat our normal lunch. I managed to NOT eat anything in-between meals yesterday, had bought some dried fruit to eat if I DID eat between meals, and that I was trying to take one day at a time, eating right and doing my exercises.

It’s funny. I’m older than dirt, but am just NOW starting to act a bit more like an adult. :0) The question of how long does it take to build a habit varies a lot from person to person. The answer for ME is around 172 days – at least on exercising. The ‘habit’ of eating right is just in its infancy for me, but I won’t count.

Kris Carr On Twitter

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September 13, 2022 · 10:23 am

Round Numbers are Satisfying

India TV News

Today is DAY 60 of my “trying-to-practice-yoga-every-day-no-matter-what” project. I LIKE round numbers (except when we’re talking about age), so today is a good day.

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“What is the 21/90™ rule? Basically, we believe that it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to make it part of your lifestyle. After you complete the 90 days, the habit will be as much a part of your daily lifestyle as brushing your teeth.“

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“It can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.”

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I’m not sure which of these is right. Maybe it just boils down to determination. Whatever it is, yoga is becoming a priority around which I plan my afternoons. I’m still delighted to put a sparkly star on my desk calendar after I do my daily practice, so I haven’t ‘matured’ much, but it DOES motivate me, and gives me a small pat on the head for doing what I ought to be doing anyway.

I’ve added 4 new poses to my basic routine lately. One is called, “The Cobra,” and another is called, “The Boat,”. I’m not sure what the others are called. They are still quite difficult, but they’re good for me. Slowly but surely I’m becoming a little less stiff, a bit more flexible.

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July 23, 2022 · 11:57 am

Day 8 Progress Report

GIFsBOOM.net

Today is DAY 8 of my renewed daily yoga practice, trying to make this a HABIT – a ROUTINE – an AUTOMATIC thing I do.

My husband sat watching my practice yesterday afternoon – eating what we call a ‘sugar ball’ he bought the last time we were in the grocery store – daring the powers that be to tell him he CAN’T enjoy it, knowing he is a Type II diabetic.

He asked me if it was ‘getting easier.’ That turns out to be a complicated question. The answer is ‘yes,’ and ‘no.’

It still hurts when I first lie down on my back on the mat. It hurts across my shoulder blades. I have no idea why, but the discomfort is enough that I have to consciously breathe through it until I can finally relax. The time it takes is getting shorter, so I guess that’s ‘easier.’

Each movement is still quite a challenge, though my body is loosening up gradually. I hold the pose, breathing, breathing, until my body ‘gives.’ It’s giving a bit more each day now.

I’m adding some new poses to my practice, so my practice is getting longer – from 30 minutes to about 45 minutes now – and I’m having no problem with that.

I feel good when I finish, and THAT makes it ‘easier’ to make it a priority to do it another day. I look forward to putting another sparkly star on my desk calendar daily. (Today’s will be number 8 in a row.)

So, even though the answer to the question is still ‘yes and no,’ the ‘yesses’ are out-weighing the ‘no’s.’ :0)

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July 20, 2022 · 3:45 pm

Trying to Form Habit

Lucia Hefferman

I’m TRYING to form a new habit of doing a yoga session every day. My body has informed me that I NEED to do this or I stiffen up and get and stay sore. Even with that ‘proof,’ I find myself making excuses.

Today is DAY 5 of doing my renewed daily practice. I just looked up forming a habit. I’ve found – “It can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.” This sounds intimidating, so I’ll just do it one day at a time – giving myself one sparkly star on my desk calendar each day, and see what happens.

Lucia Hefferman

My husband is trying to be supportive, though he was under his throw in his recliner, drinking a sugar-free soda, eating an oatmeal-raisin cookie and had a bag of Fritos to dive into next, while watching me.

I’m pouring over the Big Yoga book by Meera Patricia Kerr, finding several poses I’m trying to add to the practice. It takes me awhile to absorb a pose if it has several parts, so progress there is slow.

Lucia Hefferman

I’m proud of myself that I finished my practice well before our bug spraying man is due here today. :0)

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March 31, 2022 · 10:34 am

Keep Moving!

My SIL has this at the bottom of her emails, and I’m trying to embrace it as my mantra.

Popsugar

Since the weather has warmed up, I’m having an easier time of getting myself moving. Yesterday was rainy, so all I did was my afternoon yoga stretching session. Today, though, the sun is shining. I’m planning to weed our rock beds that run all the way along the front and back sides of the house. All that moving, bending, etc, plus the yoga will be a good amount of motion today.

I’ll also walk out to check on our veggie garden. We had quite a bit of rain a couple of nights ago, with rain most of the day yesterday, so I’m HOPING things are good out there. Fingers crossed.

YourTango

I’ve become a master at making excuses, but this week I’ve done a good job of balancing sedentary activities with getting up and moving. I’m hoping that I can get into the HABIT of including exercise in my day EVERY day. I won’t worry about specific exercises, though. At this point, concentrating on stretching, flexibility, balance, and relaxation is my goal. The research I’ve done says that it takes 66 days to build a habit. Today is Day 4 for me. One day at a time…

sent via email by a dear friend

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