When I was in college, I interned with a company called Southwestern Advantage for four years. During the summer we would sell educational products to families in their homes, and each summer we preached the phrase, "21 days to form a habit." For the first three weeks we focused solely on the number of people we were contacting and the attitude we had doing it. By focusing on the actions and getting into the routine of working hard, this would lead to better results in the end. It was just about forming the habits.
This phrase was a big motivator for the reason I choose to do Whole60 rather than the Whole30. By choosing to extend the length of time of meal prepping and lifestyle habits, it would result in better results (at least that is my hypothesis). I'm allowing myself to become more of an expert on my habits, versus stopping after the 21 day trial period. Psychologists have studied the process of habit making and breaking for over 70 years; each habit will be different to form - some take 21 days, and some take 200. But overall, the more you practice your habit the more your body will subconsciously do it!
Before a habit becomes a subconscious action, it takes determination and dedication. Setting goals can be done in various ways. Personally, I'm a vision boarder and paper planner type of girl. My Bando planner is with me everywhere I go, and twice a month I review my physical, personal, and financial goals. Here are some good guidelines to follow, found by Brian Tracy, when forming or breaking a habit.
Make the decision to stick to it.
Do not let yourself stray from that decision! No exceptions.
Tell others about your goals or habits.
Envision it! Vision board, write about it, put it in an excel sheet, whatever works for you.
Create an affirmation. One of my affirmations is, "Debt free by 33!". Kind of corny, sure, but super memorable.
Persist until it occurs without effort.
Reward yourself to reinforce the great changes you are making.
I challenge you to think of something you want to achieve and take the 21, or 60 day, challenge of making it a habit. Have you had any good experiences with vision boarding or goal setting? I would love to hear about it!