Cultivating a habit in 21-Days

This indicates that the more one practices building habits, the better they get at it. If someone is a newbie, just beginning to cultivate better habits, take our recommendation, and start remarkably small.

Highly prosperous people have acquired to develop good habits, and it demands discipline, endurance, and hard work daily to keep those habits in place. Habits arise via a process of triggering, behaviors, and rewards. We can say that there are circumstances which trigger an action. And, when we get an award from work, we continue to do the same thing repeatedly.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz, who was a plastic surgeon, wanted to experience how people observed themselves. In particular, he was curious about how long it took for patients to get used to adjustments he made during surgery. Based on watching his patients and pondering on his

habits, Dr. Maltz determined that it took at least 21 days for people to accommodate. He applied this knowledge as the basis for many prescriptions in his self-help oriented Psycho- Cybernetics.

On the flip side, numerous experts have stated that forming a habit is an art, which once developed tends to perform the act in an autopilot mode, and the human brain is free to perform other tasks. No magical number has control of habit formation. It requires a different degree of time to develop depending upon the behavior, the conditions, and the person’s innate intelligence to find the most needed intrinsic motivation to sustain through the low periods.

As an example, Mark White, COO of a renowned organization, has been struggling to develop the habit of gym workout this year. One can term the first few months as a stroke of luck, which resulted in him being able to go to the gym five days a week. He was so excited considering that he had mastered the art of habit creation. But for Mark, the reality set in after a few weeks when the sessions reduced to 4 days a week then 2 and then a no show for many weeks. Mark was able to shift the blame on increased pressure, more work, or merely tired attitude. He felt discouraged in his failure to incorporate discipline and be more regular. It is necessary to acknowledge that there will be days of frustration, and missing a day would not reset the habit formation horologe.

There are various methods to aid us in developing a habit; for instance, the cue-reward-routine or beginning with too small to fail steps. One can also follow whichever way benefits, but an important point to consider is endurance and deliberate habit which will kick in the most profound principle - intensifying. Habit is not brain surgery, but instead, they are skills.