Three R’s of Habit Formation

As we are entering the year 2017, I felt it would be beneficial to talk about the different ways to forming good habits. I know we all just made our “New Year Resolutions” and with that being said we are going to make attempts to better ourselves, start new healthy habits, or possibly get rid of the old bad habits that we once had. As I am going into my last year here on Ohio Northern University, I realized that I have gone four years without caring about my body. I haven’t exercised, ate healthy, or even ingested the proper fluids (whether this is referring to the amount of alcoholic beverages or just the proper amount of water each day).

One of my resolutions was to take care of myself and get back into shape. In high school I was a cheerleader and that might not mean much to a lot of people. But the sport of competitive cheerleading if extremely difficult. It requires 3:00 minutes of true dedication. This dedication required me to do four standing back hand springs, two running tumbling passes, six jumps with one jump combination, three stunting sequences (a pyramid, basket toss, and a single combination consisting of three or more different things), dancing, cheering, AND smiling/looking happy while in shape doing it all (or I would have never made it through those 3:00 minutes). I know that is a lot to process and it sounds impossible while looking at it on paper – but at one point and time I made it happen. Today however, I can hardly walk up a flight of stairs without feeling like I am going to pass out. This has created motivation inside of me not only for the year 2017, but for the rest of my life.

No matter what resolution you have, I am here to give you three basic tips that will help you achieve the end results of that resolution. These tips are a simple and easy way to form a new habit until you are adjusted to the new change you are implementing into your life. The three tips are commonly known as the Three R’s of Habit Formation – Reminder, Routine, and Reward.

Reminder: It is important that you set a reminder about why you started doing what you are doing and what time you want to start. For example, each day if you want to go to the gym at 3:00 PM, set a reminder on your phone. Instead of it saying “Gym”, it should say something more motivational “You got this! Work hard and the reward will pay off” or maybe “I know you are thinking about skipping leg day.. DON’T DO IT”. These little reminders sound silly but it is an internal motivation to keep pushing yourself to form that new habit. At the end of the week or end of the month set a reminder to reflect on your progress. Reflect on why you started and why you want change in the first plae. Reflect on how far you have come and how much farther you have to go. The first couple weeks (21 days) are going to be the hardest time frame. These reminders are going to be essential.

Routine: This is the actual action you are taking. Mine for instance is getting into shape. You need to maintain the will power to continue actually doing the action that you told yourself you were going to do. There will be times when you convince yourself you don’t have time.. however, excuses will not get you the end result you want. Make sure you are actually allowing yourself the time needed to accomplish your goal.

Reward: With positive rewards, there are positive actions. When you see the reward paying off you will find desire to continue the routine allowing yourself to form a good habit. For example, when you are sore it is because you worked hard. Knowing that you are sore is a positive reward (even though it feels like a negative one). Eventually you will stop being sore and start seeing the actual result. If you are trying to form a habit that doesn’t have direct results it is important that you reward yourself in other ways to continue pushing through what seems to be negative rewards. The better the reward the more likely you are to respond positively to the reminder set on your phone for day two or day thirteen.

Growing up I have known the Three R's of Habit Formation and not one time have I ever applied it to my life. On January 18, 2017 I decided I wanted get back into shape, be healthy, and respect my body. On February 18, 2017 I will have formed a habit if I continue to push myself each and every day for the next month. I will complete my goal by following the Three R’s of Habit Formation. I have full faith that I will complete this goal not only for 2017 but (hopefully) for the rest of my life.