We are coming up on January 1st, the day of the year when half of all American adults create "New Years Resolutions." Research has shown however that 80% of those people have give up on their resolution in the first month.

What do the 20% of people who manage to stick to their resolution do differently? They create habits! Studies show that at least 50% of our daily actions are based on habits and routines, not newly formed decisions.

Here is a simple way to create a new habit:

Not all habits are created equal. “Keystone habits” are simple habits that unconsciously cause you to create more good habits. If you are creating your first new habit I recommend one of the following:

Self improvement: Meditate. 5 minutes of meditation every day has more benefit than 1 hour a week. Meditating can be as simple as closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths. Then slowly inhaling through your nose and silently repeating the word “IN.“ Feel the air coming in. And then slowly exhaling through your mouth, silently repeating the word “OUT.“ Feel the air going out.

Fat loss: Log everything you eat. Changing your eating has a greater impact on fat loss than exercise. Create a habit of writing down everything you eat in a log. You can use a paper notebook or one of the many of the smartphone apps.

Fitness: Walking 10,000 steps a day is the best first step (pun intended) to getting fitter. Create a habit of going for a 30 minute walk after dinner every night.

Barney Matthews,
Dec 27, 2017, 4:22 AM