This time of year everyone is all about new resolutions, new year/new me, commitment and dedication.  And while I may grumble to myself about the extra people at the gym, everyone should be applauded for making a new start. 

Personally, I don't believe in resolutions.  "I resolve to….." fill in the blank with any one of the thousands of goals that you can have.  Then two weeks later you are back where you started.  Why is that?  Why do so many people start the year with good intentions but aren't able to see it through to success? 

The one word answer is habit.  Habits are part of human nature.  We all have them.  I bet you can list off at least five right now.  Mine?  Bathroom, brushing my teeth, morning snack, etc.  Habits are the missing link between prior behavior and successful resolutions or goals. 

If habits are the answer, why don't people focus on creating new habits instead of resolutions?  Habits require consistent daily effort.  They also require that you break down the resolution into feasible steps.  Breaking existing habits and creating new habits are extremely tough.  I DO NOT believe that it takes 21 days to build a habit.  If it works for you, great!  But, I have found that habits really take years to become part of our nature.  (Sorry if that amount of time seems like too much).

Do I think it is completely hopeless to try to create a new habit?  No, I do not.  I think there are ways to create a new habit…

 How to create a new habit.

1. Pick ONE habit that you want to start.  You probably have a list of new actions that you are going to focus on this year.  But, more than one action divides your focus.  What would happen if you only focused on one specific thing?  For me, I'm focusing on taking my vitamins every single day.  It used to be a habit of mine, but I stopped doing it.  (See, 21 days is not the golden rule.)  Yes, there are a lot of things I want to do.  But, I set a goal to take all my vitamins every day.

2. Tie the new habit to an existing habit that you have.  Our existing habits are hardwired.  If you add your new habit to end of one you are already doing, it makes it a little easier to become second nature.  For my habit, I added taking my vitamins before brushing my teeth at the end of the day.  I prefer to take my vitamins at night and I always brush my teeth at night.  Why not put them together?

3.  Track it! If you are a list person, tracking will make your heart happy.  If you aren't a list person, tracking will give you a visual reminder of what you are working on.  You can create an easy checkbox sheet on paper.  Or you can be more creative.  For my vitamins, I track them in MyFitnessPal with my food journal.  That way when I send it to my accountability buddy, she will see if I'm taking them.

4. Finally, keep working at it every day.  There is no standard rule that will work for everyone.  I can't say that if you do it for two months that you will do it every day for the rest of the year.  Everyone is different.  My preference is to focus one month at a time.  It is a small chunk and a lot easier to feel like you are working towards your goal. 

   You can create new habits in 2019 by focusing and working on it every day.  What habit do you want to build in 2019?  Share it in the comments!