New habits are tough to form. Anyone considering vegetarianism knows how tough it can be to cut back on meat, and experience a new level of isolation from the mainstream.
We seek out new habits because of the benefits they promise to give.
We choose to
because they are better for our bodies and for the earth.
But these new healthy habits aren’t exactly easy to jump into. I know you want to be an expert overnight; so do I.
It’s really true though, there is no overnight success. That holds whether your definition of success means making millions of dollars or living a simpler, greener life.
I want to share with you a new way of adopting sustainable lifestyle changes: the Once-A-Week Habit.
The Once-A-Week Habit is based on the premise that habits are linked to our physiology, which constitutes our organic bodily processes that carry out the functions of life, including metabolism, circulation, neuro-motor system, and all other body functions. So new habits must be incorporated at the right rate for you, allowing your body ample time to adjust and understand these new changes.
Life is a series of moments passing by. Habits are the way we live those moments. They include what we choose to eat, wear, and do with our time. What are you doing right now? How about at 8pm tonight?
It can take a lot of work to change habits, I’m sure you know. I pinpoint it to our physical being. Just as an addiction to cigarettes is painfully hard to quit, new healthy habits can be equally difficult to truly incorporate as second nature.
The best way to quit an addiction is to stop gradually, allowing your body to adjust before you abstain altogether. Stopping cold turkey puts the body in states of mental and/or physical withdrawal, depending on the situation, making everything more difficult.
Though it may not seem like it at first, habits are somewhat like addictions. We do them because they provide some sense of comfort, which can be translated as a physiological response in the body.
So if you’re trying to adopt a new healthy habit, try the once a week approach. You don’t have to do once a week either, you can certainly do every other week, once a month, or even increase the frequency if you feel comfortable with that. The important point is that you find a rate that works for you and your body. You’re aiming to create a new ‘normal’, so that will take some time, perhaps even a few months.
It does not matter how slow you go, so long as you do not stop. ~ Confucius
Just know that you won’t ever give up – you’ll try again next time, and again, and again, until you figure it out.
I learned from my once a week litter-picking strategy. It’s working out really great so far, and I’m applying this new rule to making green smoothies. I want to drink more green smoothies, but somehow always find a way to not make one. Maybe the everyday rule is just too daunting, and my body resorts to rebellion. So I’m going to give myself room to breathe, and designate Saturdays as green smoothie day.
What are your strategies for adopting healthy, green habits? Would you benefit from a Once-A-Week Habit?
Photo by Shannon Kringen
It’s funny that you mention this because Kevin was just saying last night that we should adopt Earth Hour every week — designate a specific day of the week and time for no electricity. I confess to being a dilettante. I’m great about trying new stuff, not so good at continuing to do it until it becomes habit. I’d almost gotten into the habit of making a specific green(ish) smoothie several times a week, and then I ran out of one of the ingredients and am quickly falling off that bandwagon again.
I’ll try the once a week approach for walking my errands and eating kale. I’m definitely going to give your green smoothie recipe a shot this week.
I think we are all dilettantes, really. There are not enough ‘experts’ out there or ways to learn from them, so we take to bootstrapping. And I think we are also all eco-sinners too. We are so far removed from sustainability in our modern urban lives that it’s incredibly difficult to avoid eco-sins 100% [which can be a de-motivator...] Hope you like the green smoothie!
Lyn-I really like the idea of a once-a-week strategy. It alleviates some of the pressure to jump head first into a big lifestyle change. Approaching a change gradually makes much more sense and the likelihood of success seems greater. Thanks for the great idea.
Thanks Lori, glad you liked it! I agree, there’s a lot of pressure to jump into those changes both from seeing others and from internal desire and excitement.
What a great strategy! After Jennifer recently posted about reconnecting with the natural world, I’m thinking the once-a-week habit could help me commit to going on urban hikes. I found out that there’s a pretty large ravine park about a half-hour walk from here – why not start there?
Sounds great! Go for it. I’m trying to do yoga on my own at least a few times a week, and go to a class at least once every other week. It’s working out pretty well so far
Lynn,
This is such a smart strategy. It’s far better to tune in with our body and natural processes than to try to force a change by will. This approach gives us a chance to feel success, instead of failure because we are not able to incorporate the habit everyday. I like this idea a lot. Thanks.
Thanks so much Sandra! I agree, I’m all for letting things happen organically now, in their own time. I frequently remind myself of that quote by Lao Tzu – ‘Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.’ So I apply that to my new lifestyle changes, even though I really really really want to be that radical homemaking expert right now. There is no jumping in, no overnight anything. It’s all just a flow. I can change my direction, but I can’t change the flow rate. And you’re right too that it allows you to feel success more so than failure. If we start out with the idea that we’ll be perfect the day we start this new habit, then all we feel after that is failure. Thanks for your added insight!
I heard that if you do something 27 times in a row, it is a new habit and hard to break. So we just need to get over that hump! My habits include going to the Farmer’s market on Saturday, baking bread on Sunday and doing a fun activity with the kids on Friday. It keeps me all organized as well. It is good to keep pushing yourself to do more too, to try different things. This spring, it will be my foray into vegetable gardening!
I’ve heard something along those lines too, though I’ve never measured my progress. I’m not sure how much I believe it, I’m pretty good at not adopting new habits
But I think the key is keep going with new lifestyle changes. That’s great you have a routine set! I’m bad with routines too, unfortunately. But, alas, I will find a way! Oooo vegetable gardening! Can’t wait to hear about it 
Pingback: Are you a green dilettante? « It's Not Easy To Be Green
Pingback: 5 Powerful Ways to BE Extraordinary NOW | Positive Provocations
Pingback: Link Love Round-Up, March 13-19 « miniMOMist
I absolutely love your articles
A 30-day trial is for me sometimes to harsh, to get rid of some nasty ‘addictions’.
If I want to implement a new habit I try to do an ‘adaption faze’ first. Every time I think about it eg. stop entering facebook so much, I try to do something else then entering facebook. It makes me conscious of how deep this addictions sits. And step buy step I can make more ‘stricter’ rules. After some time I only enter Facebook 6 times a week. And so on
Subconsciously a good habit will take place in my mind 
Keep writing!
Hey Erika, thanks so much! You’ve got an awesome idea that really pinpoints to the cause of the problem – it’s really about the choice we make in the moment and is not anything grander than that. 30-day trials don’t work for me, as they don’t address those momentary decisions. Great job for taking full responsibility for your decisions! I hope your method works out for you!