The amount of time that it takes to form a habit has been one of the most debated topics within self-development. Some say it takes 21 days and some say it takes 66 days. Research shows that a habit can take anywhere from 7 days, 21 days (Psycho-Cybernetics), 66 days (Making Habits, Breaking Habits), to 254 days to form. These studies have one consistency that point toward the correct answer. These studies show the key to habit forming.
Every habit has a different time frame for everyone because the time it takes to form a habit is directly related to how difficult the habit is. Some habits are more difficult because of time commitment, some are difficult because of consistency, and some are difficult because it’s just a challenging task to do.
For me, I have difficulty meditating every day, so that habit will take a longer time to cultivate. Exercising takes a lot of time out of my day, so that will also take a long time to cultivate. However, making my bed in the morning is an easy task to do and that habit took me about two weeks to cultivate. Drinking eight glasses of water a day took me about a month to do consistently. Some days I missed, so the next day I hit my target.
Human nature states that we are not perfect. We aren’t robots; therefore, we make mistakes. When it comes to habits, people very rarely have a perfect consistency on the first time around. Most people will fail at creating a habit. However, the people that succeed at creating habits don’t stop on their first try. They fail and pick up where they left off. Sometimes it takes people thirty plus times to get the habit down.
We are not perfect. We will fail and to succeed, we must keep on trying. If we fail once, that doesn’t mean we lost the whole journey. Pick up the pieces and keep on striving for what you want. Habits form from consistency, from failure, from imperfection, and from perseverance. Stop trying and even expecting to be perfect, take an anti-perfectionist approach. Go out there, fail, and keep on trying until you get it.
