Are you looking for a practical and effective way to acquire or eliminate a habit Psychology can help you with this.

Even though there are hundreds of personal development books for this purpose, There is nothing better than understanding how your own brain works in order to have a little more control over your own behavior and emotions.

In this article, we bring you 7 tips based on knowledge of psychology to create new habits, but before that, it is important to understand what a habit is. Check it out below!

What is habit?

In general terms, habit is a routine of behavior. In other words, it is the regular way of performing a certain activity.

Each person develops his or her own habits, even though society disseminates some that end up being generally implemented. For example, if you brush your teeth right after you wake up, you perform this behavioral routine along with millions of other people who do the same thing.

However, in the morning, there are those who prefer to brush their teeth after having breakfast. Millions of other people also have this routine.

We share some habits, but not others, The fact is that there are habits that are scientifically proven to bring benefits to several areas of life. Health, work, and relationships are some examples.

Therefore, the will to create or change a habit is born from this knowledge that some habits are better than others.

• Exercise is better than a sedentary life,
• Communicating with your partner is better than living in silence,
• Eating nutritious meals is better than gorging yourself on processed foods,
• Drinking in moderation is better than getting drunk.

These are just a few examples of good habits compared to bad ones, so, If there is a constant need to create new habits with a view to improving one's life, it is important to know how this creation process occurs.

In this context, check out 7 tips from psychology to acquire new habits!

How to create a habit according to psychology? 8 tips to avoid getting discouraged

1. develop micro-habits

If you set out to "live a healthy life," this is too vague. If you set out to "lose 20 pounds in 4 months," this is too macro and may lead to discouragement.

Many behavioral psychologists have advocated that it is recommended to practice microhabits They reduce the effort needed to maintain constancy.

The book Micro-Habits by B.J. Fogg gives an example: spending years doing two push-ups a day may not seem like much, but you don't need to be 100% motivated to do them, after all there is no difficulty. Another example: instead of setting yourself unrealistic goals for your current moment like "read a book a week", set yourself the task of reading five pages a day.

The tendency is that you will evolve and do more push-ups or read more pages of books, but without pain and without the weight of obligation.

2. develop a positive routine

Our brain likes the stimulus and reward mechanism. To understand more about this, read our materials on behaviorism and psychology!

Therefore, it is important that your routine positively reinforces the execution of the routine that is habit.For example, If you are wanting to stop eating too much candy, it is necessary to understand what reward the candy brings to your brain. It is possible that it is the reduction of an anxiety.

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Therefore, you should look for other routines that bring you the same feeling of reward. Sending messages to a friend in the moment of anxiety can be the solution.

Establish a repetition frequency

For something to become natural, engrained in our brain, repetition is fundamental. The same goes for habits.

For example, remember how you studied mathematics and physics in school. It was not enough to study the theory from above, right? You had to do exercises over and over again to be able to perform the formulas and exercises with ease and without too much difficulty.

The same goes for the physical exercise that is so hard for you to maintain. In the beginning, you will need to be disciplined and strict with the frequency. A habit is not acquired in a few days, although many people try to track when an action becomes a habit.

Our answer to this is that the habit is born when you perform the routine without difficulty.

4. get back to the core objective even after failing

Another key point to remember when you start struggling to implement a habit is: if you can't perform the desired routine one day, come back the next.

Failure should not determine your withdrawal.

So if at one meal you ate more than you should have, at the next meal you go back to your eating plan. If at one shift of the day you failed to exercise, go back at the next shift or the next day.

5. recognize the triggers that can sabotage you

Routines are triggerable, because once we activate the trigger that starts a habit, it is very difficult to stop our action.

For example, if you are a smoker and you experience a stressful situation at work, then you automatically feel the urge to take a few minutes to smoke. This is your trigger.

However, if you want to quit smoking, it is It is important to recognize what your triggers are in order to guard against them. For example, instead of heading to a smoke-free area in your office, you can walk to the coffee shop and have a cappuccino until you calm down.

6. establish the rule of minimum effort

In the process of creating a habit, you will often feel your motivation fluctuate.

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Maybe, after 7 days of consecutive training, you don't feel like training. However, you know that you need to keep the habit alive in order not to give up on your project.

In that case, Establish what will be the minimum effort you need to make to keep a habit going. You may not have the inclination to go to the gym, but you do have the inclination to put on your workout clothes and do a sequence of yoga positions at home.

So for each and every habit that you decide to implement, determine what will be the least effort you will make. However, always focus on maximum effort. The minimum should be an exception.

7. celebrate your victories

Often, in the process of creating good habits, you will let some victories slip by, which is not recommended.

For example, if you have managed to follow the diet for a month and there is only one more month to go before you end your commitment to that diet plan, celebrate what you have achieved because this will give you the motivation to follow the plan for longer.

Every day counts!

8. seek professional help

Finally, remember that you don't have to go through this process of creating or eliminating a habit alone. There are professionals who can offer professional and emotional support during your journey.

For example, With the support of a psychoanalyst, you can understand the origins of some behaviors and better deal with yourself.

Final considerations about what a habit is

We hope that this selection of tips for creating a habit help you with your goals. Remember that Each day counts, of everything you have already achieved and the life you wish to have, because it is the result of the choices you make in your daily life.

Just above, we commented on the importance of professional support in the acquisition of a habit. In this context, we highlight psychoanalysis as a valuable therapy for those seeking a different life.

If you want to acquire a new habit Whether you are looking for a challenging course or to help people on this journey, enroll today in our EAD Clinical Psychoanalysis course. With it, you learn the theory of psychoanalysis from its beginnings to the analytical part. Furthermore, with the diploma you can practice if you want or apply the knowledge to the work you already have. We are waiting for you!