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Don’t Use the 21-Day Habit Rule to Build New Habits
What I used instead.
Achievable. For a person who’s interested in improving themselves, believing this rule will only lead you down a path of disappointment.
If you start to think of concrete examples, this immediately falls apart. For instance, I’ve been waking up around 5 am for most of my life. For longer stretches than 21 days, too. Still, I’ve always struggled to do it, and until recently, given any day where I don’t have to get up early, I’ll sleep in later(when my kid lets me). So what’s the truth, and what does it take to build a habit?
Where did the 21-day come from?
Back in the 50s, one plastic surgeon noticed that it took people around 21 days to get used to their “new face.” Long story short, he published a successful pop culture book on it, which sold a lot. And it was everywhere at that point.
Some scientific research says that’s the wrong way to think about habit building.
Here’s the truth: if you want to build a habit, all you have to do is get rid of the obstacles stopping you. Instead of thinking of it as something you should do, or need to do, you should frame it in a way that makes you want to do it, as easy as possible, and as enjoyable too.
