Well with Alice

The H is for... Habits!

A habit is a behaviour that you do regularly and often without even thinking about it. 

We often think about habits in a black and white way: habits are good or bad. Good habits include healthy eating and exercising, whereas bad habits include addictions, eating unhealthy snacks and staying up late watching Netflix. 

However, habits are more than these big things. In fact, most of the things you do during the day are habits. Habits are often part of a routine. For example, brushing your teeth before bed is generally a part of a larger bedtime routine that you have without even realising it.

This week, I would like to challenge you to look at your habits and routines and ask yourself two questions:

Firstly, which habits do you perceive as negative? How can you replace them? 

Replacing a habit is easier than just quitting a habit altogether, because we love our routines.

For example, you may want to stop scrolling on your phone before bed or right after waking and instead read a few pages of a book or do some deep breathing. Perhaps you want to stop snacking on chips late at night and eat some carrot sticks instead. 

To succeed at these changes, make them easy and accessible. Have your book next to your bed, have carrot sticks cut up and ready and make the chips hard to reach.

Secondly, what are habits you wish you could start? How can we make these happen? Small and consistent steps have the highest chance of success. 

For example, do you want to exercise? Don't aim to go to the gym for an hour a day five times a week all of a sudden, because this is likely not going to be sustainable if this is not something you are already used to. Instead, perhaps download an app with 7 minute workouts and try to do some every day, or decide to go for a walk at lunch time. 

Finally, don't try to change everything all at once! This would set you up for failure. Small, gradual change is more sustainable than throwing your whole life around. Good luck!