Habits – Part One, Attraction, Definition and Length of Time it Takes to Create a New Habit

“Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.” — Norman Vincent Peale

When trying to make changes in our health or lifestyle the concept of creating a habit is often used. It is a tasty carrot to focus on, because of the perception of what a habit is and the lack of effort/decision it takes for habits to occur. Advertising uses the idea of habits to hook people into buying certain programs or concepts, but advertisers also know that people on the whole like instant gratification. I want to delve into what a habit actually is, how it is formed, and in general based on scientific data how long it takes for a behavior change to actually become a habit.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a Habit is defined as an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary. So these are actions, or responses that happen without us having to really think about them at all. The habits we have now, like putting a seat belt on when getting into a car, pushing down on the brake prior to shifting from park to drive, brushing our teeth in the morning or placing a napkin on our lap at dinner were at one time new to us. Through repetition, reinforcement and practice these new activities eventually became second nature to us. Using the knowledge of previous success in creating new habits should give us the confidence in our ability to do so in our future.

There has been a lot of marketing around habits that suggest a 21 day period of time is required. What this really is, is advertising executives doing a fabulous job of taking one study’s results and blanketing it across the board. The 21 day habit formation is based on the amount of time it took plastic surgery patients to psychologically adjust to their new appearance. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3505409/

If you think about the referenced study that would make sense. People that have had plastic surgery will have no way to get around or ignore what changes have happened. There is no further choice in the matter once the procedure is done, they are with their bodies 24 hours a day, when they wake up the change is there, when they go about their daily lives the change is there the changes are completely integrated into every part of their lives. This would seem to expedite the process, because they have absolutely no control over maintaining the change, once it’s done it’s done, now they only have to accept it.

So how long does it take to actually develop a habit? Some of the data suggests 66 days, 2-3 months, and others up to 254 days! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140808111931.htm

Are you getting nervous yet, are you feeling those bees in your stomach start to sting…or have you turned away from the page completely not ready to accept the length of time it will take to actually make a behavior change into a habit? Have no fears, there are techniques and skills you can use to make the process a little more seamless, more rewarding and not so daunting.

Elizabeth SimmonsSeptember 25, 2019