21 Days to Habit Change – Fact or Myth
June 23, 2010
A question was asked on a conference call with Steve Levinson, author of Following Through: A Revolutionary New Model For Finishing Whatever You Start, whether he thought it really takes 21 days to change a habit. He pointed out that there is no scientific evidence that it takes 21 days to change a habit. It really depends on the complexity of the behavior and the potential consequences of not changing it.
For example, if you pressed a button which then caused your house to explode, you would never press that button again. This is an example of instant behavior change! What really determines the amount of time it takes to change a habit is your focused effort on changing that behavior. This is why it’s so important to focus on changing one habit or behavior at a time. So, choose one thing that you would like to change and focus all of your effort on changing that one before moving on to the next. The beginning of a new year always causes folks to think about renewal and change. Unfortunately, within a few weeks most give up. Just remember that behavior change is tough and it doesn’t always happen overnight or in 21 days. Just get back on the horse and try again!
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