Do you ever know what the secret is to creating new habits that are sustainable? We often look at olympic athletes or successful business people in awe of their self-discipline to do those healthy actions each day which have gotten them to the place they are today. 

You can’t rely on self-discipline to be the driving force behind creating and maintaining habits. Self discipline is a muscle, and all muscles become overexerted and max out at a certain point. When self discipline is weakened or tired, relying on systems you have put into place is the key to being able to practice those habits day in and day out. Yes, even on those days you REALLY don’t want to drink water, exercise, eat a balanced meal, etc. 

What is a Habit System?

You might have a goal that is the motivation for creating new habits. That goal could be improved health, longevity, better sleep, weight loss, etc. But that goal is not a very detailed piece of information to help you actually achieve this desired end result. The process and the systems you create is what will lead you to the goal. 

A process is the steps you must take in order to get to your goal. The system is all the changes you make to help make the process easy and repetitive. Following the habit breakdown of cue →  craving →  response → reward, we will dive into the different parts and important aspects to focus on when creating habits. One habit master is James Clear, check out his book “Atomic Habits”, it’s one that we love here within the Vessel Team! 

Instead of focusing on the end goal, shift your attention to creating systems to make this process of behavior change a pleasant experience! We are going to dive into some tips to make these habits sustainable. 

Cue the Habit

The cue is the first part, so it might be considered the most important. This is the visual cue, feeling the cues the emotion, the sound that triggers the memory. The cue starts the behavior chain. However, the steps leading up to the cue and the causation of the cue is something you have control over. Here are some main things to consider:

• Make it so visible you can’t ignore 
• Asses the positive cues and negative cues related to desired outcome 
• Cue create awareness, this can also be important to figuring out what habits you want to create and what habits you would like to expire.

If your goal is weight loss to improve your health, then fill your environment with cues to support the behaviors that lead to weight loss. This includes: 

• Fruit bowls on the counter
• Cut up veggies at eye level in the fridge 
• Motivational quote on your alarm clock 
• Exercise shoes/workout clothes laid out the night before
• Yoga mat near in front of the couch 
• Vessel Wellness Test in the bathroom

These cues will fire off neurons in your brain to keep your health and weight loss goals in mind. We are focusing on the positive cues in your environment, however it should be noted that negative cues can also influence your progress with your goals and habits, it’s good to be mindful of these as well. Once a cue is familiar you start to develop cravings, which is the next step for developing a habit. 

Healthy Cravings

Often when we think of cravings, we associate them with foods or actions that don’t align with our health goals. Cravings can be so powerful they can push you to run out to the store to satisfy your sweet tooth. However you can start retraining your mind to crave your desired habits by making your desired habit more attractive. How do you make eating healthy or spending 10 minutes a day getting movement attractive? It’s easier than you might think, try these tips: 

• Pair it with entertainment: Podcast, favorite show, audio book, social media, call with friends/family
• Be “proactively lazy”: doing habits now, reduces feelings of discomfort in the future, setting yourself up for success. 
• Supply yourself with the tools you will want to use to support your habits, aka get supportive walking shoes, a water bottle that you enjoy drinking from, choose a gym in an area you like going to.

If the habit is more attractive, it will make it easier to complete AND it will reinforce this habit because it strengthens the association of the action with the long term habit. Going back to weight loss, consistent habits are a major key, so anything that helps reinforce those habits is a gold mine. Next step is to reduce friction or barriers to completing the habit. 

Make it Easy Peasy

This one might seem obvious but the way you can implement this into your life can get a little complex. The easier it is to actually perform the habit, the more likely you are to do it, and then again, and again. The goal is to reduce the steps in between the cue and action/response. Some strategies to do this include: 

• Habit stacking: Taking a daily habit already solidified in your routine and pairing it with your new desired habit.
• Already pouring coffee, pour yourself a glass of water too, this will help you reach your water goal. 
• When you go to check your mailbox at 5pm everyday, take a lap around the neighborhood
• Pair nightly TV with light exercise or stretching 
• Driving home from work, add a stop at the gym so you don’t have to go home and back out. 
• Prepping dinner Monday night double the recipe and have leftovers for lunch throughout the week. 

• Find Accountability Partner

• When you have someone else to either remind or participate in the habit with, it makes it easier to complete. 
• You have more invested when others are also involved 
• Seek out accountability partners in your family, social circles, and at work to promote healthy habits. The community you surround yourself with is influential in your habits and actions. 

• Get Micro 

• It’s easier to accomplish tasks when they are shorter in time or effort. 
• Break down your bigger long term habits into the micro steps. 
• Practice the small goal for a set time, don’t get stuck in the easiest level, however also don’t try to progress faster than you can handle. Burn out with new habits can happen! 

Now you have some ideas of how to make this habit more easy to implement into your life. Now the final step is to make it satisfying! 

Make it Worth It

The whole reason for wanting to create new habits is to reap the rewards of your actions. The end goal of living a better life through better health, building family, financial freedom, career success etc. Whatever you want from life is that end goal. However, since it take a lot of work to build up to these successes, we have to celebrate the wins along the way to keep these habits sticking. 

Making it worth it means making sure there is a reward for your habits along the way. Some actions you can do to acknowledge and reward yourself include: 

• Using a habit tracker for external validation your habits are adding up (aka that beautiful step streak you have) 
• Monetary rewards for completing goals, you can use this fund to plan a vacation or a new pair of running shoes 
• Seeing your wellness score increase on your Vessel Wellness test based on improving your sleep and hitting your hydration goals. 
• Including a walk into your Sunday morning donut run. 
• One of the easiest ways to reward yourself is with daily affirmations! 

Assess where you can add in rewards into your day to help keep you motivated to practice healthy habits in your routine. As well, it’s important to plan out rewards for hitting longer term goals. 
Conclusion

You made it through some fundamental steps in behavior change and developing habits to support the healthy life you want to live. It’s never too late to learn and adopt new habits with this tried and true formula. When it comes to supporting your healthy habits, Vessel Health’s Wellness card can be a daily or weekly or monthly cue to help support your awareness of these habits. It’s simple and starts your day off with an increased awareness of your hydration, sodium, calcium, and other wellness goals. In the vessel app you have reminders to help cue those responses to drink water, plan in yoga, increase your health knowledge and so much more. If you're interested, check out Vessel today for your personalized health plan!