Habit in 21 days: 13 important rules for improving your life

How to form a good habit

Pick just one habit. Don't try to implement everything at once. Start running. When one or two weeks have passed and you notice that this is easy for you, add another habit. For example, waking up early. Start the next habit only after you have firmly established the previous one.
Be kind to yourself. Believe me, if you want to lift weights (popularly called bodybuilding) every day for an hour, you will give up very quickly. If you start with 10 minutes and gradually increase the duration of your sessions, you will achieve success. Better take a number that will NEVER be burdensome to you from the very beginning. Sometimes even 6-7 minutes of exercise a day seems impossible.
Record your results. Keep a habit chart in electronic or paper form. Write a habit in your diary, and opposite it write down the days of the week or the days of the month. As soon as you complete the habit, cross out that day.
Don't allow yourself “little weaknesses.” Smokers, I think, will understand me. When you quit smoking, sometimes you passionately want to light “one more cigarette.” And this one more cigarette is just a trigger, after which you will smoke several more packs (okay, if not blocks). The same goes for good habits. If you want to eat healthy food, but periodically allow yourself a lot of sweets, cola and other junk food, then very soon everything will return to normal.
Allow yourself “little gifts.” Don’t confuse “gifts” and “weaknesses.” With gifts you should indulge your “inner child” or “inner artist”. Buy yourself something that will be associated with your new habit and that will make you happy. If you've been running in the morning for a month straight, buy yourself some new running shoes that make you feel cool. If you write 5 pages a day, get a new pen. Make yourself happy with the little things.
Count how many days you maintain the habit. If you skip a habit two days in a row or two times in one week, start counting again. Inertia tends to inertia. The more days you miss at once, the harder it will be for you to get back into the habit. If you missed only one day in a week, simply do not include the missed day in the total count, but consider that the whole week was successful.
Give yourself a day off. Select Sunday or any other day as a day off. If you have followed a habit religiously for 6 days in a row, you can safely cross off one or two habits on Sunday as if you had already done them. And do it. Or don't. Doesn't matter. Give yourself a break and do whatever you want (but not what will interfere with the further formation of the habit). Take a walk in nature. Chat with friends. Sleep all day. This will help you recharge your batteries and strength for the next week.
Keep time and quantity records. Write down how much time per day you devote to the habit. For example: running – 20 minutes, meditation – 12 minutes. Keep quantitative records, if possible. For example, the number of push-ups, squats, and so on.
Enjoy the process. Enjoy what you do. Be happy with what you can do. Don't listen to ANYONE. If someone tells you that you “should” run in the morning, but the very idea of running in the morning disgusts you, feel free to refuse. It may not be your thing. If a habit doesn’t make you happy either now or in the future, then why do you need it?

What is a habit?

So, first you need to decide what a habit is? The word seems to be familiar, but everyone interprets it differently.

In general, a habit is a certain pattern of behavior that has developed over time, the implementation of which becomes a need. This is a certain “unshakable truth” that is operating in your life at a given time. And giving it up or changing it to something that you think is more suitable is sometimes not at all easy.

It's like quitting smoking. It seems like there is nothing complicated - you wake up in the morning and you no longer smoke. But why then do so many people fail to quit? What's stopping them? I even remembered an anecdote on this topic: “I don’t understand how people can’t quit smoking? I’ve already quit a hundred times!”

But at the same time, thousands of people around us are successfully “starting” new good habits. And they succeed. Perhaps they know something that we are not aware of? Let's try to open the curtain.

Stages of Habit Formation

The most important thing to always remember is that desire alone is not enough to develop a habit. Of course, it is very important to understand what you really want, but at the same time you need to work, act

So, the stages of developing a habit:

1. Decision making. This is a very important stage, it is the starting point for habit formation. At this stage, a person asks himself questions: “What do I want? How can I achieve this? What habits can help me with this? ”, and, after identifying the necessary habit, he decides to develop it for himself.

At this stage, the main thing is not to fall into the trap of “unfounded promises” to yourself, because in this case the decision will remain simply in words, without being supported by action.

2. One-time action. If you decide, for example, to get up early, do it at least once. Move.

3. Repeat two days in a row. This is already more difficult than getting up early once. It will require some effort on your part.

4. Repeat daily for a week. This task is already more difficult, especially if you take into account the social factor - there are no days off in forming habits, so you will have to get up early on both Saturday and Sunday.

5. Repeat for 21 days. This time is considered minimal for habit formation. If you managed not to “move out”, this is already a great reason to be proud of yourself!

6. Repeat for 40 days. During this time, according to scientists, the habit is developed and consolidated 100% until the opposite is developed. After this period, you can already relax a little - the usual thing will be done easily, without effort or “forcing” yourself.

Why is habit important and what is habit?

A habit is considered to be a certain pattern of behavior that over time develops into a need.

And a person begins to perform this action automatically, since it becomes a physiological need of a person, and the emotional and psychological state of a person depends on it.

Remember when your parents taught you to brush your teeth, at first you resisted, and then over time you developed a need to brush your teeth.

Our character is also based on certain habits. For example, women often have a completely unhelpful habit: “I can do it better myself.” So many people do everything themselves.

Therefore, you should not look for those to blame, you always form everything in your life yourself, including habits. Therefore, it is worth changing something in yourself and everything around you will also change for the better, you will see and feel it yourself.

The 21 day rule in practice

Developing habits in practice can be useful in absolutely any area of human life. Most often, the 21-day rule is used to start playing sports, following a certain diet, giving up bad habits, etc. Since the Financial Genius website is dedicated to personal finance management, I want to offer you some examples of how to develop a habit by applying the 21-day rule in this area.

Example 1. You want to start planning your working day in order to increase the efficiency of your work, but this gives you discomfort, you make a plan for the day through force, you don’t always carry it out, and you don’t always make it either. Force yourself to do this for 21 days in a row, then a habit will develop and the situation will change.

Example 2. You want to start doing home accounting, but you still won’t start. Try to write down all your income and expenses for 21 days in a row, and this will become a habit.

Example 3. You want to master copywriting - make money by selling articles, but you just can’t bring yourself to regularly write articles for sale. When an article sells, it inspires you, and when it doesn’t, you lose motivation and write nothing, thereby, your income from this activity continues to remain low. And here the 21-day rule will help you - write at least 1 selling article per day, and after 3 weeks you will develop a habit that will increase your income.

There are many such examples. I once wrote separately about financial habits, good and bad. Accordingly, you can and should develop useful ones within yourself, but you need to get rid of harmful ones, and the 21-day rule will help you here.

Now you know how to develop a habit, what you need to do for this and what not to do.

Go for it! And to start using the 21 day rule, apply another, no less important rule - the 72 hour rule, that is, take the first action within 3 days, otherwise you will put it off endlessly

I hope I motivated you well. Good luck in developing good habits and getting rid of bad ones! If the article was useful to you, share the link with your friends on social networks and forums. See you again on the pages of the site!

Why exactly 21 days?

Why, in fact, is 21 days necessary to form a habit? Why not 10, not 30, not 50? Who came up with this number?

As it turns out, this number has a scientific basis. An interesting experiment was conducted in the USA. Each member of the created experimental group (a total of 20 people participated) was given special glasses, the lenses of which turned the image upside down. Participants in the experiment had to wear them all the time, 24 hours a day.

After a certain time, the participants’ brains learned to flip the image themselves and began to perceive it as normal. The brain adapted to inverted pictures. The peak of such revolutions occurred precisely on the twenty-first day.

But, as soon as people stopped wearing these glasses for at least one day, the brain returned to normal function, and it took 21 days to reverse the image again!

Thus, during the experiment it was found that habit formation occurs in 21 days. But every pass takes us back to the first day. Even if in fact he is the twentieth.

Duration of habit implementation

Many works have been written on how to quickly introduce a habit into the subconscious. They differ in schemes, recommendations, advice, but are united in one thing.

Or better yet, one per month.

Perfectionism in this matter is absolutely inappropriate, so you shouldn’t “start implementing all the desired healthy habits on Monday and become a new person.” It still won't work. But disappointment in yourself will come, uncertainty will be added, and maybe even a feeling of being labeled a loser.

Is it necessary?

Of course not.

Let's just do the math.

If you take a month to implement one habit, then in a year you will get 12 of them.

12!!!

In two years - 24.

In three - 36.

It turns out that in a year or two or three, from a dull amoeba with a beer belly and dull eyes, you can model a successful, self-confident businessman (?), an athlete (?), a family man (?) who is happy every day and is surrounded by friends.

21 minute rule

Anyone who exercises 21 minutes a day should not worry about their health.
If you spend 21 minutes a day cleaning your home, you won't have to worry about clutter.
Anyone who devotes 21 minutes a day to improving concentration will not have to worry about creative block.
Anyone who finds 21 minutes a day to listen to the affairs of their husband or wife need not worry about problems in their relationship.
If you spend 21 minutes a day listening to yourself and taking personal notes, you won't have to worry about running out of ideas.
Anyone who works 21 minutes a day to create sources of income does not need to worry about their own financial well-being.
Anyone who sets aside 21 minutes for rest should not be afraid of overwork and fatigue.
Anyone who reads a useful book at least 21 minutes a day should not worry about becoming an expert. Alex Baihou

Of course, it is not easy to comply with all these rules at the same time. They should not be a burden to you, so, of course, you can retreat from them a little and rest

But it is very important to do them systematically in order to consolidate the habit. Then your life will reach a whole new level

Start right now, don't put it off until later. Then the results will not keep you waiting. The result of developing a habit in 21 days will be improved health, state of mind and body, enlightenment of the mind, passion and novelty in work and family life.

Difficulties on the way to a new life

From the experience of psychologists observing the internal struggle of people striving for their ideal, we can conclude that half of all episodes of failures and “breakdowns” of patients occur due to the indirect fault of “public opinion.”

The social environment of a person, in which he previously felt comfortable, is an established cell that has its own norms of behavior and way of thinking of its participants. An individual for whom this shell becomes small has every chance of feeling universal condemnation and returning to past habits for fear of being left alone.

Experts recommend that an individual who expands the boundaries of his consciousness and is committed to change gradually introduce into his social circle people who have achieved mental balance or are close to the ideal to which the person strives. Over time, his need for people from his “former life” will completely disappear and the temptation to “fall into old habits” will disappear by itself.

What to do with “breakdowns”?

Of course, if a person has the strongest motivation to develop a habit, he will be able to get up at 6 in the morning, go to the gym, quit smoking, etc. and so on. But how to behave in a situation when there is simply no such motivation, because you can “break down” very easily?

In this case, experts recommend adhering to the following tips:

Work on your motivation.
If you have a desire to instill a new habit in yourself, a simple argument “this is necessary” or “I should” will not be enough. In response to these arguments, the brain will begin to ask its own questions, the answers to which will often become a “disincentive” to forming a new habit. But the solution is simple: you must create serious motivation for yourself. Think about where a new habit will lead you, what prospects it will open up for you, how it can improve your life and how much new and interesting things it can bring into it. Imagine bright prospects as clearly and brightly as possible - only if “ the desired result looms, you will have the desire to do what you decide to do.
Track your regularity.
If you perform some action for 21 days, every now and then, skipping the 3rd, 5th, 9th, 14th day, you will not form any new habit. Remember that even one skip nullifies all your efforts, even though you were faithful to your decision for 19 days, but missed the 20th day. So, do your best not to miss “classes.”
Make an effort.
In the process of forming a new habit, you will definitely encounter difficulties when the task seems impossible or you begin to be overwhelmed by laziness or the desire to give up everything. But no one promised an easy path. To overcome difficulties, you must use all your will and strength. Stress yourself for three weeks, make an effort on yourself - and after 21 days you will not only be able to relax, but also understand that everything you have done was not in vain.

From all this it follows that, firstly, any person is able to form any habit in himself, secondly, he will need only 21 days to do this, and thirdly, motivation and self-control.

YOUR HABITS:

Do you have any habits that you want to get rid of or that you want to replace? Perhaps there are habits that you have long wanted to instill in yourself, but you still can’t? If so, we suggest you find out how habits are formed in your life, as well as get acquainted with effective methods of self-control and self-regulation - we invite you to take our proprietary course on self-knowledge, which will tell you a lot of interesting information about yourself. You will find the course here.

We wish you, first of all, to form the habit of getting to know yourself always and everywhere, but at the initial stage, 21 days may well be enough for you. So go ahead!

Rules for forming a habit

A habit is the repetition of the same action for 21 days intentionally, with effort. This time will let you know whether you need this habit or not.
It is worth bringing this matter to the end, i.e. 21 days, need to be repeated day after day. You need to prove to yourself that you can make a difference.
We suggest making a list of their 5-10 habits that you would like to instill in yourself. Of these, first select the one that is most attractive to you and start
This habit should bring you joy, satisfaction, and harmony in your soul. And you should control yourself in a diary, planning or calendar. If you did it, circle it, or write it down, or maybe reward yourself with something when 21 days have passed.
After 21 days, evaluate whether this habit is useful for you or whether you don’t need or value it at all. If NO, then feel free to abandon it and take on a new one.
It is worth trying to look for what would be useful for you in life, and not stop and look

How habits are formed

We do many things in our daily lives out of habit, without thinking, “on autopilot”; You don't need motivation for this. This automaticity of behavior allows us not to stress too much in areas where it is quite possible to do without it. But habits are not only useful, but also harmful. And if useful ones make our life easier, then harmful ones sometimes greatly complicate it.

Almost any habit can be formed: we gradually get used to everything. But different habits take different times to form for different people.

Some kind of habit can be formed already on the 3rd day: you watched TV a couple of times while eating, and when you sit down at the table for the third time, your hand will reach for the remote control: a conditioned reflex has developed.

It may take several months to form another habit, or the same one, but for a different person... And, by the way, bad habits are formed faster and easier than good ones)))

Habit is the result of repeated repetition. And building them is simply a matter of persistence and deliberate practice. Aristotle also wrote about this: “We are what we constantly do. Perfection, therefore, is not an action, but a habit.”

And, as is usually the case, the path to perfection is not a straight line, but a curve: at first the process of developing automaticity goes faster, and then slows down.

The figure shows that, for example, a glass of water in the morning (blue line of the graph) became a habit for a particular person in about 20 days. It took him more than 80 days to get into the habit of doing 50 squats in the morning (pink line). The red line of the graph shows the average time it takes to form a habit – 66 days.

Where did the number 21 come from?

In the 50s of the 20th century, plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz noticed a pattern: after plastic surgery, the patient needed about three weeks to get used to his new face, which he saw in the mirror. He also noticed that it took him about 21 days to form a new habit.

Maltz wrote about this experience in his book Psycho-Cybernetics: “These and many other frequently observed phenomena generally show that it takes a minimum of 21 days for an old mental image to dissipate and be replaced by a new one.” The book became a bestseller. Since then, it has been quoted many times, gradually forgetting that Maltz wrote in it: “at least 21 days.”

The myth quickly took hold: 21 days is short enough to be inspiring, long enough to be believable. Who wouldn't like the idea of changing your life in 3 weeks?

In order for a habit to form, you need:

Firstly, the frequency of its repetition: any habit begins with the first step, an action (“sow an action, you reap a habit”), then repeated many times; we do something every day, sometimes making an effort on ourselves, and sooner or later it becomes our habit: it becomes easier to do it, less and less effort is required.

Secondly, positive emotions: in order for a habit to form, it must be “reinforced” by positive emotions, the process of its formation must be comfortable, it is impossible in conditions of struggle with oneself, prohibitions and restrictions, i.e. under stress.

When under stress, it is common for a person to unconsciously “slip” into habitual behavior. Therefore, until a useful skill has been consolidated and a new behavior has not become habitual, stress is dangerous due to “breakdowns”: this is how we stop eating right, or doing gymnastics, or running in the morning, as soon as we start.

The more complex the habit, the less pleasure it gives, the longer it takes to develop. The simpler, more effective and more enjoyable the habit is, the faster it will become automatic.

Therefore, our emotional attitude towards what we want to make our habit is very important: approval, pleasure, a joyful facial expression, a smile. A negative attitude, on the contrary, prevents the formation of habits, so all your negativity, your dissatisfaction, your irritation must be removed in a timely manner

Fortunately, this is possible: our emotional attitude to what is happening is something that we can change at any time!

This can serve as an indicator: if we feel irritated, if we begin to scold or blame ourselves, it means we are doing something wrong.

You can think through a reward system in advance: make a list of things that give us pleasure and can, therefore, serve as rewards for consolidating the necessary useful skills.

In the end, it doesn't really matter how many days it takes you to form the right habit. Another thing is much more important: in any case, you can do it!

Important Tips

People often think that acquiring a healthy habit is very easy, but this is not true. For this, desire alone is not enough - action and determination are needed. To develop a new skill in yourself, you need:

Set yourself a specific goal. This stage is very important because it is the pivot point of everything. Take this issue seriously; you should not make false promises to yourself. The main thing is motivation.
Perform an action for the first time. If a person decides to do exercises in the morning, then he needs to exercise for the first time in the morning - this will be the first step on the path to great achievements.
Repeat for 3 days. We must not forget what we started doing. Make an effort and repeat what you intend to instill in yourself.
Repeat throughout the week. This stage is difficult, you need to follow the habit for 7 days in a row - without breaks or days off.
Reproduction of the action for 21 days. During this time, the subconscious mind will begin to accept the action as a permanent habit. The same exercise can become part of your life if you do it without interruptions.

This algorithm of actions is standard. After you have done something for 21 days in a row, you need to move on to repeating it for 40 days, gradually increasing the duration of the process. Then you can no longer try so hard, because the habit is developed automatically over such a period.

Over the course of 21 days, the habit will definitely develop if you follow some recommendations.

Journaling

Watch what you do every day. To help form a habit on your own within 21 days, a bad habits diary will help. Determine the purpose and degree of importance of acquiring the habit.

First you need to decide on the habits that a person wants to develop in himself. These could be desires:

lose weight;
give more compliments to your loved one/colleagues;
read 20 pages of a book before bed;
do 25-minute exercises every morning;
remove spicy or sweet foods from your diet;
be active in communicating with friends;
Attend cultural events 4 times a month, etc.

Be sure to write down the following: at what time to perform a certain action, what is its frequency per day or week. You can describe the action step by step. This works especially effectively if the habit is related to sports.

In a notebook, you need to draw a sheet of 21 columns in order to record whether the action was done or not. If the action was successful, the column is painted green, and if not, red. It's better not to miss a single day. It may be enough to allow the body and mind to relax. If you go off course, you will have to start all over again.

Another option is to keep a success diary. Over the course of 21 days, it tracks whether progress has been made towards developing a good habit. Records are kept every day.

To develop the ability to be grateful, you can additionally write down words of gratitude to loved ones. This will teach you to notice the good around you and form the habit of being grateful for any good action in your favor and doing good to others.

Prioritization

Write a list of main things to do and prioritize. The main aspiration is the most worthwhile and difficult, so it takes a long time to achieve it.

Secrets to successful habit formation:

start small;
increase the frequency of tasks gradually but constantly;
break down a large amount of work into small parts;
if there are deviations from the goal, do not abandon your intentions, but continue;
be patient and only stick to a pace that is comfortable for you.

Less important actions may not be as difficult, but they are best achieved sooner. They are the starting point for the main goal. Having completed them, gradually move closer to its implementation. Everything that is done in life should be at least a little related to the big task. Set deadlines for a skill if you need to quickly achieve it.

Try to focus your attention on a maximum of 2 areas. This will allow you to properly distribute time and energy. If you do several things at the same time, the body quickly becomes exhausted from stress. Maintain balance and don't forget about rest.

Affirmations and Motivation

If you want to develop new skills, don’t put it off until later. Leave laziness, busyness and fear. Believe in yourself and say good things. In psychology they are called affirmations. There are such positive statements:

I will do it in 21 days;
I will achieve my goal;
I am strong and everything will work out for me;
I am purposeful and successful;
I will definitely succeed;
I'm on the right track;
everything will turn out great, etc.

Often, self-doubt prevents people from starting to live in a new way. Figure out what you doubt and what worries you. You can write down your thoughts, this will help you become happy faster.

Another solution to the problem is to find motivational quotes from successful people, place them on beautiful photo backgrounds, near your desktop and on the refrigerator. If your aspiration is related to exercise, you can print out a photo of your vision of your ideal body to get inspired and motivated.

Recording successes

It is important to be able to reward yourself for successfully completing the path when developing a habit. The gift can be anything: a trip to the spa, a visit to a cultural institution, eating sweets, more time to watch a movie/read a book, etc.

The main thing is that it brings joy and happiness to a person. It is advisable that the gift is associated with a new habit or does not harm its formation.

Difficulties on the way to a new life

Eating Habits

Everyone around is just talking about natural products and proper nutrition. Let’s talk in more detail about how to change habits and adhere to the dogmas of healthy eating in the busy modern rhythm of life. There are many useful habits that can radically change your daily life today, ensuring excellent health for a long time.

Don't eat before bed

Urgently change your habits that you have developed over the years - stuffing your belly before bed. By refusing to eat after 7 pm, you will become slimmer and ensure your attractiveness to others. If there is no obesity, the risk of serious pathologies is leveled out, and your life will be extended.

Drink more water

To ensure comfort, we have long been accustomed to drinking coffee in the morning and delighting ourselves with aromatic tea in the evening. But in reality, regular water is required to improve health, and other drinks only replace it. Change your life, drink a glass of water before meals. This will ensure water-salt balance, you will train yourself to never fill your stomach with excess food.

Five steps to make healthy habits easier to develop

It is important to consciously approach the process of adopting a new habit. Indicate the goal, the desired result and the means by which you will achieve the goal. Try a new behavior (future habit) for the first time

Include in your daily routine everything that contributes to her education, and exclude everything that interferes. The next step is to stick with the new behavior for two days. Now try not to change your word all week. Weekends are no exception. Don't fall into the trap of "Saturday and Sunday are relaxation days." There is a high risk of failure, because there are too many temptations on weekends. But if you still fail, it’s okay, continue as if nothing had happened. Then give yourself time. Highly motivated people with a high level of control will form the desired behavior faster, but those who find it difficult to limit themselves (especially if they have already had breakdowns) will need more days.

Think positively

Be sure to make a rough plan on paper and write a report every day and think only positively.

First, you need to take the first step, try to hold out for 1 day according to plan.
Leave written reminders at eye level, audio reminders on the phone, etc.
Then repeat for 2-3 days in a row. After 3 days it will be easier.
Last a week without days off. Super!
21 days, a turning point, the awareness of the habit is already there.
40 days, the habit has taken hold, but if you give up everything at this moment, all your efforts will be in vain.
90 days will pass. There is no turning back. The goal has been achieved.

What habits can you develop in 21 days: ideas, list

There are a lot of tips on how to start eating right, what exercises are good for losing weight, how to get rid of various bad addictions, but few people tell you how to develop these healthy habits. But you can vaccinate yourself according to the 21-day rule.

How long does it take to form a reading habit?

The main thing is to choose those that will help you improve yourself, improve not only your body, but also your inner world. It won't be easy at first; these daily repetitions can be very stressful. The classes will be difficult, but then you will achieve success when you work them to perfection.

What good habits will help you improve yourself?

Learn to admit when you are wrong. Many people make mistakes, but try not to admit them. That's why I can't move on

This is especially important when communicating with loved ones. This should take more than one day to learn.

You can't give up

If you are used to quitting everything halfway, you will have to relearn. Keep promises, see everything through to completion. Therefore, no matter what you undertake, always bring everything to the desired effect. This way you will learn to achieve your goals.

You can't live someone else's life. The most difficult thing for a mother is to stop giving instructions to her adult child. Therefore, you should get rid of this habit. You should learn to relieve stress and control yourself. To do this, create a special procedure that helps you forget about the unpleasant things that happened during the day. Most often, it is better to use sports training for this. After them, it will become much easier to forget about troubles, the quality of sleep and attentiveness will improve. Develop the habit of sleeping at least 7-9 hours at night. Thanks to this, you will be in a great mood, you will not feel drowsiness, irritability, and your psycho-emotional state will be brightened. It is easier to develop such a habit if you follow a sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time. On weekends, you can allow yourself to lie in bed more. Try to set aside time to meditate daily. Start attending special classes to cleanse yourself of negative thoughts, so you will begin to breathe deeply, this will make positive changes in your destiny.

Learn to recognize negative thoughts in yourself. And then get rid of them. All negativity pulls any person to the bottom. Learn to identify them and replace them with pleasant moments of life, drive them away.

Force yourself to make your bed immediately after sleeping. This habit mobilizes a person to start the day positively. After all, order in the house is an important part of everyday life. If you get used to doing this automatically, then this activity will not stress you out in the future. Force yourself to wake up at the same time in the morning and start your morning cheerfully. Try to develop the habit of eating slowly. Chew food thoroughly, do not swallow quickly, and do not eat on the go.

Eat vegetables daily, as often as possible. The benefits of this are great.

Learn to smile at people. If this becomes a habit, you will become happier. Often positive people smile back. Thanks to this, stressful conditions do not arise, and anxiety goes away faster. Other people in return are also ready to develop a trusting relationship with you. To replenish your vocabulary and develop, start reading just before bed. Choose literature based on your interests. They say that information that comes in before bed can be absorbed by the brain much better than at other times of the day. Try not to drink a lot of coffee. The drink is invigorating, but if you overdo it, it can harm your health. Therefore, you should wean yourself off the caffeine habit every day. It’s better to work on yourself, start switching to something more useful. Avoid eating processed foods. This food does not benefit the body. You should eat more vegetables and fruits, so you will feel better.

Develop your talents, to do this, determine which sides are stronger in you, and start working on yourself. Maybe you have certain skills that can help you find yourself in the future. This is important, especially for young people looking for themselves in life. Because being a jack of all trades is much worse than doing what you love most.

Don't give up communicating with people who need you. Despite the fact that some people make you feel uncomfortable, you should still be more tolerant with society. After all, it does not happen that, for example, only like-minded people work in a team at work.

What habits will make you better?

21 day rule for weight loss

By summer, girls often try to lose weight. Still, short shorts, skirts, dresses, swimsuits fit well on a slender figure. And losing weight is so difficult. After all, to do this you have to restrain yourself, switch to proper nutrition, and engage in physical activity. Otherwise nothing will work. Interestingly, the 21 day rule applies in this case as well.

Incentive for weight loss

You should start working on yourself with incentives. If losing weight for you does not mean losing 3-4 kilograms in order to feel a little lighter, then you will have to completely rebuild. You would like to look so that all passers-by pay attention to you. We admired your slender figure. Then instill habits guided by incentives and forget that food is needed for pleasure, it should be taken to replenish energy and nothing more.

Find some coat or jeans in your closet that are already too small for you. Place it in the most visible place, remember how slim you were. This will be a good incentive to develop healthy habits to lose weight.

Start developing healthy habits.

An effective method for working on yourself is the 21-day rule. Any useful undertaking should be consolidated day after day, without missing a single day. In 21 days you will be doing all this automatically.

Tips for losing weight:

Drink about 225 ml of water before your morning meal.
Start your morning actively, do exercises.
Walk for at least two hours every day. Then you will have good skin.
It is better to fill your stomach with food before 12 noon, and in the evening, limit your food intake.
After six in the evening, it is enough to eat an apple or drink a glass of low-fat kefir.

IMPORTANT: Basically, nutritionists advise that in order to get rid of fat deposits, you should drink more water. But it is better to be critical of this, because each person has his own needs in the body. Some people need a lot of water, some don't.

According to the 21 day rule, you can get rid of bad habits.

Therefore, in order to become slimmer, you should not only stop overeating, but also strictly adhere to your eating schedule. You will also need to quit smoking and drinking. Despite the fact that there is a belief that smoking can satisfy hunger. It has long been proven that this is not so. Smoking only hinders weight loss. After all, smokers have weaker lungs, so it is difficult for them to run or walk at a fast pace.

Formation of healthy habits
Follow a proper diet. Using the 21-day rule will make it easier for you to develop the habit of eating only the right foods. Avoid fatty, salty, smoked, baked, fried and any fast food. If you can survive without these products for 21 days, then success is guaranteed. This type of eating will become a habit for you.

Not without the fact that occasionally you can allow yourself to eat something “wrong”, but the main thing is not to overdo it. Otherwise, your curves will become curvy again. You will have to eat right for the rest of your life, only then will you look perfect.

Stage 1

First of all, it will be necessary to prepare for changing the habit. Most likely, you have tried to wean yourself from bad habits before, but it was all in vain because there was no action plan. This time everything will be different, because you will have a great strategy.

Focus on one bad habit

Your willpower, no matter how great, has a limited amount of energy for each day, and when it is depleted, it becomes increasingly difficult to control negative impulses and desires. If you fight day after day with smoking and junk food, sooner or later a breakdown will occur, due to which you will return to your old lifestyle.

Whatever one may say, such addictions require an individual approach, so you should not overestimate your strength.

Set a 30-day deadline to achieve your goal.

You must create the most stringent conditions in order to get rid of a bad habit. Therefore, strict deadlines within which it will be necessary to get rid of addictions are a necessary thing. 30 days is exactly the period that is ideal for such a goal. Within a month, you can realistically build your ideal schedule, following which you can methodically eradicate the habit.

But if 30 days is not enough, then there is nothing to worry about. Increase the period to 60 or 90 days, but you shouldn’t delay it too much, because we are talking about your health.

Choose a date to quit the habit

You'll need a head start, so you need to set a date to start your crusade against unhealthy lifestyle choices. It will be a certain moment from which life will change dramatically. The date will give you an understanding of the goal, having achieved which you will change your life for the better.

Define tasks correctly

“I want to eat only healthy foods” is not a goal, but rather a desire. The goal must contain specific wording that will not leave room for maneuvers and unnecessary burgers.

It’s better to set goals step by step and act as follows: today I will give up fast food, but leave room for not-so-healthy food at home. Tomorrow I will eliminate all junk food from my diet and switch to a healthy and balanced diet. And exactly in a week - when the body adapts - I will go to the gym.

Avoid extremes

Firstly, it can negatively affect your health, but the greater danger is the emotional and mental side. Let's say you swore off eating sweets for a week, and one day you snapped, which can happen to anyone, and ate a couple of sweets. But you are so determined that you won’t allow yourself to eat even a gram of sugar that these two candies mean a complete breakdown. Therefore, what is the point of holding back any longer, once you have left the race? Don't fall for this trick of your perception: keep fighting.

Keep statistics

The best way to track changes is to make daily observations. The first step is to establish your own norm, based on which you will reduce contact with the “irritant” every day. — Number of cigarettes smoked per day; — Weight, how many calories are consumed daily; - How much alcohol is consumed daily; — How much time is spent on the Internet every day, and so on. Having initial indicators, you will be able to build a battle plan with yourself and receive real guidance for action.

Create additional goals

Such mini-quests will help you cope with your tasks much easier, and they are also a great way to track changes and progress.

Let's say you smoke 20 cigarettes a day. Create a schedule that will help you methodically quit smoking. First, you will start smoking 15 cigarettes over one week. Then, over the course of two to three weeks, you will reduce the amount to 10 cigarettes per day. Over the next 3 weeks, the number of cigarettes will decrease to 5. After another two weeks - to 3.

The timing and number of cigarettes you have will be individual and, most likely, failures are possible, but this is not a reason to give up on a great goal, so don’t even think about it.

An experiment that changes consciousness. How to change your life in 21 days

21 days is not taken lightly. Psychologists have proven that in order to develop a new useful habit (or vice versa, get rid of a bad habit), you need exactly 21 days.

A simple priest, Will Bowen, came up with a method by which absolutely anyone can change their life. He observed people for a long time and came to the conclusion that our lives largely depend on what we say, what emotions prevail in us, and what thoughts are hovering in our heads.

One day Bowen invited his parishioners to change their lives for the better. The essence of his experiment, which later became known as “A World Without Complaints,” was as follows: you had to put an ordinary purple bracelet on your hand and wear it for 21 days. All this time he must refrain from swearing, insults, complaints, dissatisfaction, gossip and condemnation. If a person still uttered “forbidden words” within 21 days (started to complain, swear, etc.), then he should change the bracelet to the other hand and start all over again. This practice should be continued until the bracelet has been worn on one hand for 21 consecutive days.

By putting on a bracelet, you make a contract with yourself.

Delete everything that you consider unnecessary.
Try to always close all doors.
Repair everything that requires it (socks, chair, lamp); always hang everything in the closet.
Calculate how much time you spend on the computer and TV. And in 21 days, try to change this.
Get your finances in order.
Give up what is not really necessary.
Come up with 10 points to save your money!
Set aside an hour a day to search for additional income.
Educate yourself.
Read to the end a book that you didn’t have enough time for.
Every day you go to bed 1 minute earlier, and get up 1 minute earlier in the morning.
Do something in the evenings that you have been drawn to for a long time.
Make a list of your promises to your loved ones, friends, and yourself. And start doing them.
Take care of your health. Quit smoking. Can't do it yourself? Then contact a specialist.
Join the gym. On weekends, the whole family goes out of town, skiing or walking in the forest.
Create a healthy diet. Do everything strictly.
Find something good in your partner every day.
Keep a diary of your positive deeds.
Focus on those people you respect.
Try to do at least one small thing a day.
21 days of looking for good in the actions of others.
Practice empathy.
Try to learn more good things about your surroundings.
Praise everyone who deserves it.
Learn to forgive not only others, but also yourself.
Don’t stand still, having achieved something, go to a new peak.
Feel the beauty of the present moment.
This will give you the ability to control your thoughts, words and emotions. And this is worth a lot. Talking about the negative is forbidden, and you inadvertently switch to the positive and begin to look for the positive in troubles. As a result, you will begin to notice positivity in yourself, in those around you and in every day you live!

Knowing now how to change your life, do not blame the past and do not praise the future, live in the present. And change will change you and your world.

A contract with yourself according to Bowen

By tying a purple thread on his hand (even if the “dressing up” happened more than once), a person must solemnly write on paper a kind of “agreement” with himself and subsequently try to comply with it as much as possible. These are the rules for 21 days:

remove from the house everything that you have not used for more than a year;
never leave cabinet doors, drawers, or entrance doors open;
everything that can be repaired is fixed; everything that cannot be repaired is thrown away;
within 5-7 days, draw up a detailed timeline of time spent without real benefit, and in the remaining period, reduce these losses to zero;
set up your family finances and draw conclusions;
come up with 10 ways to reduce household expenses and apply them all;
find additional income that also meets personal interests;
learn something new every day;
read a strictly defined number of pages of a good fiction book per day;
Dedicate 1 hour daily to a hobby;
play sports in a group;
give up 1 bad habit every 7 days;
exclude obviously unhealthy foods;
try to see only the good in others.

To clearly understand the duration of the experience and experience a positive uplift from the feeling of positive dynamics, you should keep a “21 Day Habits” calendar. Approaching the completion of the project, a person will begin to feel proud of himself, and the possibility of “failure” will become minimal.

Important Experiment Rules

Photo by Ron Lach: Pexels
Why 21 days and not 30 or, say, 15? This psychological phenomenon was discovered back in 1950, when one surgeon found out that a person gets used to his new appearance during this period.

As a result, it was concluded that 21 days are required for the brain to fully adapt. In our case, we will talk about getting used to a new bright and positive life. So, how is the principle of change formed:

in 21 days you will definitely understand whether you are satisfied with the new state of affairs or whether you will have to adjust something further;

you need to strictly follow the established rules and not deviate a single step from them (the period cannot be shortened either);
you can choose only one action that you want to get used to in order to change your life for the better, or try something new every day (the main thing is that all these are somewhat exclusively positive emotions);
the goal of the 21-day plan should be something completely new, which was clearly lacking for complete harmony before (for example, the habit of never complaining about fate or noticing every pleasant little thing);

How to change your life in 21 days?

follow the principle of encouragement, that is, for a well-spent day, according to the established list, treat yourself to something pleasant;
don’t be upset if, after 21 days, not everything worked out as expected at the beginning (this means you should reconsider the goal and stages, since most likely they just need to be adjusted);

don’t be afraid to start over, make a different to-do list for 21 days and move forward to sooner or later radically change your life for the better.

In order for you to have the strength to go through this difficult path and not give up on your dream, you should consider several important points. Forming the habit of living without irritating and depressing factors occurs in stages.