Habit forming for Health

Now that my ears have unfrozen I can get around to this post. Tonight was the third day in a row I have run a mile. This time was slightly different however being it was outside and not on a treadmill.  I am more of a fan of running outside than inside than inside, but when the temperature is 43 degrees that preference changes. The reason I fought the cold is I wanted to prove to myself that I was building endurance and not just running because the machine wouldn’t let me stop.

Why am I forcing myself to run? Because I am trying to form healthy habits. My best friend and I have decided to adopt a new healthy habit each month for 2016. Either that habit is only for that month or is in helping us in prepping for a goal that we have set for 2016. This month want to run three miles straight by the end of the month. This is because I would like to run a 5k straight through.  I have benchmarks to help me steadily improve, but I was thinking how long must you do something in order for it to become a habit?

Reading through things there are various answers.  The shortest time limit is 21 days, which fits within my goal.  Although other reports say around 66 days. Most articles agree to the fact there is technically no one size fits all time line.  It all depends on what you are changing or doing. Through my research I have learned that there is no simple answer, but I could have told you that before my research. When you have been struggling with against overeating your whole life you understand that there are a million ways to “fix it”, but not all the ways work for everyone.

Here’s what I do know, you can set goals, make list, and have expectations. However, unless you really want them and really push yourself towards them it probably won’t happen.  This might sound harsh, but we are a society of instant gratifiers. We want results quick and easy, and when something gets hard and we fail it’s easier to just give up. We miss though the key to obtaining a goal. The secret to achieving anything is picking yourself back up and trying again after you fail. Because you’re going to fall down but it’s how you get back up, not about how far you fell.