The 1 Minute Hack to Forming a Habit | Devotional
In this age and time where people are getting increasingly mindful of their habits and routines. Especially with working from home, it may get hard getting into the headspace to do work with all the distractions around us. For many, procrastination is a problem we face. However, although it may seem harmless in the beginning if we still manage to finish our tasks, although at the last minute, it may settle into a habit that would in the end, come and bite you back! So how can we curb this habit of saying “later” or “tomorrow”? By replacing it with a new habit! One that tells you “it’s now or never” and “if you don’t do it now, you never will!” Which is why, in today’s TED talk, we learn the secret to forming a new habit that takes only 1 minute with the help of sociologist, Christine Carter.
Sometimes, when we launch into a new project, we tend to think about the big picture too much and set ambitious goals. But what we may miss due to this excitement is all the smaller details and the tiny goals that will help set your foundation and build your way to achieving your goals! One good example is when many of us choose to live a healthier life by eating clean and exercising frequently. When going into this new “project” of being a healthier you, many of us think about the final result, of being slimmer, fitter and healthier overall, leading us into being over-excited and start making big preparations such as scheduling meal plans or even getting a gym or exercise membership! But, let’s be honest, how many of us actually stick to that plan? Many times, we would stick to this plan for a few months, before slowly regressing back into a couch potato!
One of the big factors of why we end up backsliding is because sometimes, we tend to want to do things that we are good at, or doesn’t feel difficult to us. When setting your goals and wanting to develop a good habit, it’s not always easy! We need to learn to let go of our ego and be willing to accept this difficulty and learn to progress by facing these obstacles in our journey. That’s how we slowly get used to these difficulties and progress not only in just developing this habit, but also as a person!
When we first start off, we’re very motivated, but one thing that we must remember is that motivation is like a battery. It’ll eventually run out, and even if we’d like to recharge it, it’s going to take time and power to regain this motivation! Which is why, we shouldn’t be fixated on being good in our habits, but rather, being bad! When first starting off in your journey to become a better you, set miniscule goals first! Be it just waking up a minute earlier or going downstairs for a walk or to exercise for just 5 minutes, as long as you’re taking action, your body is going to learn this routine and in the future, that muscle memory that it develops over time with these small habits will build upon one another and you’ll soon find out that the you now has greatly changed from the you in the past!
There’s no need to rush into a habit with the idea of becoming an immediate pro at it, rather, one thing that is advisable is actually to go into it with the idea of being bad at it! So when you start to feel that you might not be progressing, you can still reassure yourself with a small encouragement like, “It’s okay, I didn’t expect myself to be an expert at it anyways, but let’s just start small now!” And with that, we hope that you’ve learnt the small but important secret to forming a new habit! We’re all beginners when starting out and rome wasn’t built in a day after all, so let’s just go in with an open mind and just do our best~
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