Let’s be real—it’s a hard time for resolutions and changing unwanted habits. The stressors of the pandemic leave us all reaching for coping mechanisms that aren’t always healthy. However, New Year’s resolutions do not have to be lofty. They can even aim at reducing a harmful habit as opposed to eliminating it entirely. Whether you are going for the gold or simply trying to keep habits in check, it takes more than a resolution to change ingrained behaviors!
The definition of resolution is “a firm decision to do, or not do something”. This is of course the first step to making changes big and small. To make a new resolution stick, a person must implement this resolution into a new routine or habit.
A habit is something people do almost automatically—without conscious thinking. When an experienced cyclist begins to peddle there is no need for them to think much about the movement. The body has peddled so many times in the past that it has built a network of messaging within the body. A new cyclist needs to build these neurological networks through repetition or a routine of practicing in order for pedaling to be a habitual action.
Science tells us that changing unwanted habits and creating new routines takes more than a quick decision and willpower! Change depends on repeating new routines again and again. Repetition of a routine creates new pathways in the brain. Those pathways are what help us to operate in that habitual way.
Are you wanting to change a habit or create a new routine? Thrives has many resources available for creating and sustaining healthier routines big and small in your life. Contact us or visit our website to work together on nicotine cessation support, self-care in the workplace initiatives, alcohol and substance misuse prevention, harm reduction techniques, and more. Read/watch the links below to learn more about your amazing brain’s ability to change unwanted habits and let’s ditch those old resolutions for new routines.
Article- How the Brain Forms Habits – https://neurosciencenews.com/habits-brain-15805/
Article-Habits: How They Form, and How to Bream Them – https://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147192599/habits-how-they-form-and-how-to-break-them
Video-How Habits Change Your Brain – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN1aRN5bQQ0