How to create and maintain healthy habits for your eyes and for yourself.
How to achieve your healthy habit goals
Anyone adjusting to a new routine knows how hard it is to stay on track. There is a famous quote that says, “it takes 21 days to build a habit, and 90 days to build a lifestyle.” Yet, it always seems to be more complicated and even difficult to build a strong habit. We are creatures who thrive off of instant gratification and when habits take time to build we often fall short and forget about the long term benefits those habits can have.
According to behavioral scientists the difficulty arises in the way we approach creating habits. We often look to the extreme and make far reaching resolutions without considering the steps it will take to lead us to that desired success. Perhaps we need to rethink the journey rather than focusing on the result. Here are some ideas to help you develop your next habit and successfully turn it into a lifestyle.
- Habit Stacking. Many experts say that the best way to form a new habit is to tie it to an existing one. Look to where your habits are strongest and stack on a new one. For example, many of us have strong morning routines, which is a great place to add something new. Maybe in addition to a morning skin care routine, we add on eye care and think about how we can easily combine both practices to ensure our eyes feel just as refreshed as our skin.
- Start Small. Additionally, we are more likely to establish new habits when we start small and make things easy. Taking that first step to achieving a big goal is often intimidating, but breaking it down into steps is helpful for keeping our motivation up. For example, when thinking about eye care, we can start small by practicing the 20–20–20 rule. When spending considerable amount of time on screens each day, take a break every 20 minutes. Find an object 20 feet away and look at it for 20 seconds. This small task gives our eyes a break and can help us become more conscious about our own eye health. We can also make this task easier, by setting reminders to take that 20 second pause.
- Consistency. Researchers express that in order to build a healthy habit, consistency is key. Habits are more likely to stick when we do them more often. Consistency also makes it easier to continue our habits going forward, leading to our successful end goal, and helping us achieve our healthy lifestyle.
Building habits take time and it’s important to have a support system in place to help you and your eyes feel their best. That’s where we come in, MYZE. Think of us as your 24 x 7 eye care resource in helping you throughout this journey. For more information about the importance of eye health and daily eye care routines, go to www.helpmyze.com. Make sure to sign up for our daily inspiration to motivate your eye care journey.