The 21 day theory is something I teach my clients  and friends on a regular basis!  I have used 21 day theory on myself to develop habits such as drinking a glass of ice water every morning, choosing salads over chips and brushing my teeth with my left hand. A great habit I developed is looking back when ever leaving a taxi or a table.

 Life Quotes by Aristotle

 

Definition Habit:

1. A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.

2. An established disposition of the mind or character.

3. Customary manner or practice.

 

Habits can be bad or good. We can use 21 day theory to simply fill our lives with new positive good habits. It’s just a matter of forcing yourself to do the desired actions for 21 days. I set reminders, post it notes, phone alarms, calendars, whatever it takes. You have to force yourself to do it repeatedly for 21 days and then it will become a habit. If your habit was going to the gym every Wednesday,it means you would have 21 consistent gym sessions. If it was giving up the morning cigarette, 21 days of switching that cigarette for a glass of cold water or meditation could do the trick.

Research shows that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. That’s 21 days to reflection, 21 days of going to the fitness center everyday or exercising in some way, 21 days of eating healthier foods, 21 days responsibility, 21 days of anything. When starting a habit, don’t say to yourself you are doing it for life, tell yourself that you are going to undertake it for 21 days. When trying to break a habit, this can also work. On the other hand, study has shown that the neural pathways to any habit could be constant and a sign or a trigger can be a reason for us to start support an old habit, like smoking. This is not a bad thing. We just have to be conscious of our view when we have given up a habit such as smoking. We tend to tell our conscious mind we are going to transform and it’s for life, when starting or breaking any habit. Changing a habit is never that easy. If it were, over eaters would all be thin, alcoholics would never setback, and everybody would be up early enough to eat a healthy breakfast before work.

For a lot of people, getting out from a bad habit is a lifetime effort backed up by the truth that those well-worn synaptic pathways never leave. There’s no clear scientific basis why it would take three weeks to break an old habit or make a new one. However, in several ways, this system works for me and lots of my associates.

If something goes inappropriate, it can take weeks before that thing to be right again. Though the 21 days theory claims is dependent on a person’s routine, I am confident that the technique to develop a habit works wonderfully for me. I’m sure also for you.

Try 21 Day Theory with  our strategy for remembering names here.  You can do it!

21 Day Theory from www.adriancahill.com

21 Day Theory, from www.Adriancahill.com

21daytheory_from_adriancahill.com

Just 21 days

4 replies
  1. Lily says:

    You know I tried this with the memory techniques. I put a couple of reminders up, on my bathroom mirror and on my computer, that helped a lot. I just started a new job and I remember the names of half the people in the office already!

    • admin says:

      Hello Lily! I use this technique a lot when I change countries actually. When I came to China, I started using Chopsticks with my left hand. Can you do that?

  2. Brian J. says:

    Haha funny to see a Lao Wai do that. I thought maybe you would use one chopstick with the left hand, and one chopstick with the right?

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  1. […] that you have the techniques, you just have to set yourself a reminder to practice them regularly. 21 Day Theory will do the trick! For the next couple of months, in all of your future events, practice these […]

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