80% of people give up on their New Year’s Resolutions in February. This means many people stay committed for only a month to new habits or routines. People start new change initiatives with good intentions and vigor. However, it seems like improving our lives, losing weight, and getting fit are elusive.
Why New Habits Fail?
There are many reasons why forming habits is hard. People need to understand is that progress is not linear. You will fail a couple of times before getting it right. Reading, having a mentor, or learning from other people’s mistakes may help you minimize your learning curve. This is one of the reasons why people who have built lasting habits are always learning. There are always looking for new ways to improve the process.
Unrealistic Expectations.
Firstly, new habits fail because people have unrealistic expectations. Many people want to change too many things too soon. Snake oil salespeople and greedy marketers understand that human nature leans toward laziness. There are many wild promises like, “lose weight in three days” or “Lose weight without eating healthy and exercising or “make millions by working only 2 hours a week”. These marketing messages strike our deep emotions. We start believing in goals that are not rooted in reality. It is good to wild expectations; however, you need to start small and build from there.
Results Vs Process.
Secondly, new habits fail because people are obsessed with results but hate the process. Many people want to be rich, have the best body, and be fulfilled. However, they do not want to go through the process to achieve all those things. The process takes time, can be boring and mundane at times. People expect a week of healthy actions to change 15 years of unhealthy habits.
We see the highlight reels, But we never see the work. People appear on the front cover of magazines. We do not see the late nights, closed doors, and many failed attempts. People who are in great shape are admired. We just never see them eating healthy and working out daily. Many people give up on their goals and dreams because the process is hard and takes time.
The Danger Of Environments.
Finally, new habits fail when people do not change their routines and environment. Habits are like seeds, they need a good ground and a healthy environment to flourish. When we choose to develop new habits, the world will not move to accommodate us. We must work extra hard to change our routines and environment that will support our new habits.
Do you want to lose weight? Clear your fridge and pantry of unhealthy foods. Do you want to save money? Cut up your credit cards and unsubscribe your email address from online shops. Developing new habits may make you lose friends. Prioritizing working out rather than happy hour may make you unpopular with certain people. Our routines and environment impact our habits and lives more than we realize.
Changing your life by building new habits is hard but possible. You will fail and fall many times before you get it right. Keep on going and moving the process forward. When you start new habits, you must be willing to be bad at it in the beginning. What will separate the winners from the losers is the tenacity to try again until the new habit becomes automatic. Choose one thing at a time, focus on the process, and change your environment to start building new habits.