Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Month: How to build healthy habits and stick to them

It has been established that it takes roughly 21 days of continuous behaviour for a habit to be formed or broken. Picture supplied

It has been established that it takes roughly 21 days of continuous behaviour for a habit to be formed or broken. Picture supplied

Published Feb 9, 2023

Share

Everyone is still motivated to live healthier lifestyles and set an example with excellent behaviour.

Eating a nutritious meal occasionally and going to the gym once a month are not the only components of being healthy.

Being healthy requires living a healthy lifestyle, and Bestmed Medical Scheme provides some advice to help you become and remain healthy.

A new year always brings with it an "unsaid" optimism and hope for the future. This is the start of a new year with a blank slate and a chapter of 365 days in which you can decide whether to break unhealthy habits from the past or form healthy ones.

It has been established that it takes roughly 21 days of continuous behaviour for a habit to be formed or broken. One of the largest obstacles to creating a new habit is maintaining consistency, but once it takes hold, it becomes less of a nuisance and almost becomes second nature.

While certain behaviours may be more unfavourable to your daily life than others, some can help you maintain your psychological and physical health. Luckily, it is simple to break bad habits and develop new, helpful ones with a little effort.

Keep yourself informed of all the benefits that come with developing the new habit you have chosen. Picture by Moe Magners/Pexels

In line with Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Month, the following set of helpful tips from Bestmed Medical Scheme is intended to help you develop and keep up a good habit(s):

Choose a habit you want to learn/break:

Knowing who you want to be and taking baby measures to create new habits that will help you get there are the keys to living a happy and healthy life. Your chances of reaching and keeping your lifestyle goals depend on them.

Know the benefits:

Keep yourself informed of all the benefits that come with developing the new habit you have chosen.

Know the sacrifices:

Before opting to start this new habit, make sure you are aware of the potential time, effort, comfort, and other resources that you may have to give up.

Shadow your role model with this habit:

It's critical to have someone you admire who practises the same habit so that you have a point of comparison and inspiration to continue even when you don't feel like putting in the effort or are frustrated.

Spread the word on the new habit:

Let your loved ones and friends know that you have a new habit. For some people, a support system becomes their main source of motivation.

Write it down and say it loud:

You will benefit from daily affirmations and the ability to see your goals. Saying it out aids in visualising and preparing your mind to follow through and complete what needs to be done within the allotted time frame.

Reward yourself:

One of the most significant pieces of advice on this list that we particularly like is: You deserve to thank and congratulate yourself in some way each time you accomplish a goal or milestone with your new habit. When it comes to creating new habits, sustainable growth is achieved through positive reinforcement.