How To Start A Healthy Habit (& stick to it!)

Studies say that once you have made it to 21 days you have formed a habit; now how do you get there?

If you are considering starting a new healthy habit…good news, you are halfway there! Psychologists believe that when trying to make a change in your life  you go through a cycle called the “The stages of change,” also known as the Transtheoretical model. Within the Transtheoretical model there are five different stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance- each stage is self explanatory but click here to learn more.

Quick Rundown of Stages of Change:

If you are already thinking about changing a habit then you are most likely in either the contemplation stage or the preparation stage, which are malleable stages, meaning you are motivated to change.

If you were to be in the precontemplation stage, you would not be considering a change nor would you think there is anything wrong with said behavior.

As for action, this means steps have already been taken to change the behavior and you are currently working on your end goal.

Maintenance phase is where you have achieved your goals but are actively working everyday to maintain your progress and achievements.

Now that you have an idea of the Transtheoretical model you can determine which phase you are in and tailor your goals to match that stage of change. For instance, if you are in the contemplation stage you might need a little bit more convincing and motivation in order for you to achieve your goals.

8 Tips for starting a healthy habit (or stopping a bad habit):