6 Tips for Establishing Good Habits (And Sticking to Them!)
At the very beginning of this year my husband and I decided that we wanted to start saving more money. We wanted to enjoy the freedom that goes along with living within our means. We also wanted to eat out less and travel more with our savings. It hasn’t been easy, but over the past 6 months we’ve drastically changed the way we spend money and established some really good habits. Here’s how you can do the same:
1. Set small and large goals.
In order to accomplish goals you have to be able to look at both the large and small picture. This means that you need to set monthly goals but you also need to set five year goals. For example, in terms of budgeting, we’ve outlined a precise budget and how much money we can spend in each category. At the same time, we’ve chosen how much we need to save and what we want to do with our savings in the next five years. Make your goals reachable so you don’t get thrown off by missed achievements.
2. Choose one habit at a time.
Don’t try and change your life all at once. Be realistic and choose one goal at a time that you’d like to achieve. Don’t decide that you want to lose weight, budget, and work out everyday all at one time. When you have too many goals, you’re sure to water down your intention.
3. Eliminate slip up moments.
In order to establish good habits you have to eliminate slip up moments. One realistic way of doing this is envisioning your long term goal and truly and completely knowing why you want to achieve it. If you make the goal truly worth your while you’re a lot more likely to want to meet it. Additionally, by being focused on just one good habit at a time, you’re much less likely to have such moments.
4. Remove temptation.
Know your triggers and remove them when you can. For example, if you tend to snack and you want to lose weight, stop buying snacks. If you’re trying to budget, and window shopping causes you to spend money, stop window shopping.
5. Get your partner on board.
It’s much easier to stick to a good habit when you’re both on board. It’s nearly impossible to stick to a morning workout routine if you stay up late with your husband and it’s difficult to diet if your partner keeps chocolate bars in the fridge. It’s much easier to accomplish the task at hand when you’re both working toward similar goals. If you don’t live with someone, then it’s a little simpler, but if you live together, work with your partner to establish and maintain the habits you want to keep in your life. Then you’ll enjoy the since of accomplishment that comes with meeting goals.
Related on Organic Authority
9 Conscious Eating Habits to Celebrate Earth Day Deliciously
Why Am I So Unhappy? 9 Bad Habits That Cause Pain
5 Habits of Centenarians and How to Live Longer
Image of a couple jogging from Shuttershock
