Quarantine has been a big wake up call for us all.

Whether it’s learning more about our careers, lifestyle, or anxieties, COVID-19 has made many of us reassess what’s important in living a happier life. And, if you’ve been seeing people who’ve been able to knock bad habits out and replace them with good ones, we’ve established a list of suggestions to consider if you’re trying to do the same.

 

Reassessing Where We Were

Quarantine is a time for a lot of people to wake up and realize what their habits were, as well as how they could be improved. Often what was once occasional for us suddenly became excessive; in fact, as noted in Forbes, Americans at the beginning of quarantine were reported to excessively eat, drink, smoke marijuana, and play video games. Additionally, American workout routines suffered too, where people were 12 percent less active during the quarantine (as noted by data collected by FitBit).

For most, this position is not nearly where they wanted themselves to be. Although it’s easy to slip up a little bit, this time in quarantine has been a big reflection for most of what it’s like when their lifestyle is left unchecked. When factoring in the anxiety of potentially contracting COVID-19, the increased levels of consumption make sense. However, doubling down on what’s most unhealthy to us is unsustainable, which is why it was time for many of us to make a change.

Learning How To Make Changes

Learning how to make changes in your life isn’t an easy practice. After all, if it all it took was a few days or a couple of weeks to make a permanent lifestyle change, many of us would probably be healthy already. In actuality, it can take an average of 66 days to make a real permanent change towards your lifestyle. And if this sounds like a daunting amount of time, there are a few strategies you can use to help ease into the process:

Taking Things Slow

One of the biggest first steps in learning how to make new changes is by taking everything day-by-day. As every single day is a building block towards your new lifestyle, just focusing on not overextending yourself is key. A big part of building new habits is making it routine, not just something they tempt themselves with to enact a small sense of discipline. Instead, make it a habit to have daily goals, with a culmination of a few enacting a reason to reward yourself and celebrate.

Picking How To Get Rid Of Old Habits

One of the hardest parts of getting rid of bad habits is you can only get rid of a few at a time. While everyone loves the feeling as though they can quit smoking, start exercising, cut back on drinking, and live healthier all at once, that’s impossible even for those gifted with the most self-discipline on the planet. Instead, it’s important to tackle things in small chunks, giving yourself the opportunity to acclimate as time goes on.

Let’s say for example that you’re aiming to quit cigarettes, get into fitness, and eat healthier. If the first thing you’re aiming to tackle is fitness because it’s the most familiar, then getting into something like quitting cigarettes might include using a smokeless alternative to cigarettes that still contain nicotine could be helpful in your transition. Not only would it help show what it would be like to live without cigarettes, but the immediate benefits of potentially improved performance would start paying dividends immediately. Start framing your thinking like this, as it’ll help quite a bit in getting rid of the bad habits to acquire good ones.

Acquiring Good Habits

Perhaps the most important aspect of picking up good habits is genuinely enjoying them. While that might sound silly, a lot of people look at living a healthier lifestyle as depriving themselves of the things they enjoy in the short-term. At first, this can be partially true, however, a big part of picking up good habits is learning how to reward yourself, as well as reinforce positive behavior. And for many, at first, this can take a little out of the box thinking.

An excellent example is replacing the cost of cigarettes if you’ve quit. For example, if you love buying records or perhaps have wanted a new TV, using the money daily that you’d spend on packs could be a smart motivator while giving you an attainable goal. Furthermore, reinforcing the small accomplishments can help remember why you’re in this in the first place, giving you a reason to move even more towards your goal. Healthy habits are a lifetime goal, which often starts with understanding how to stay positive in your day-to-day for the weeks, months, and years to significantly start to feel better in the long-haul.