Habit Changing

Have you ever tried to change your daily routine, but quickly get overwhelmed and just give up completely? This isn’t because you can’t make changes, but because you try to change too much, too quickly. You can’t focus your mind on a dozen things at once – which is why it never seems to work out. Instead, you need to change just one habit at a time.

You Might Experience Burnout if You do Too Much

The last thing you want to do is make your life harder instead of easier when you are trying to establish a new daily routine. That is exactly what is going to happen if you keep piling on a bunch of new habits to start at once. When you face burnout, not only do your habits not stick around and your routine isn’t changed, but you might even regress and make your life even more difficult.

It’s Almost Impossible to Form Multiple Habits at Once

Have you ever tried to make big changes in your life, and instead of changing just one thing, tried 3, 5, 10, or even 20 at once? More than likely, it just wasn’t possible. Your brain can only handle so much, and when you attempt to change all the habits at once, what tends to happen is you can’t figure out where to focus your attention. Your thoughts go in a million different directions, and the habits don’t stick. In fact, you may even get brain fog and fatigue.

You Need to Focus on the Process for Each New Habit

Another reason it helps to change just one habit at a time is that it requires focus, tracking, and making sure this is a good habit for you. How do you know if it is helping or hurting your life if you start 5 new things at the same time? This makes it impossible to see if the benefits or drawbacks of any habit are affecting you, since you tried to change too much, too quickly.

A Routine is Built Up Over Time

Daily routines are great for changing your life, becoming happier and more productive, and reaching your goals, but it is not a fast process. Take your time when changing your routine, starting with changing just one habit, getting used to it, then moving on to the next. If you want a new morning routine, don’t change everything at once – pick the most important, such as waking up early to do yoga, then once you have established your yoga routine, start adding in other aspects, like writing in a journal. I always refer back to the 4 P's with habit formation; patience, poise, persistence and purpose as it relates to life goals and moving forward.