Habits provide the basis for our most positive outcomes in life; mindfulness, becoming fitter/stronger and giving work our full attention – but our habits nevertheless create most of the problems that we encounter in our lives, such as getting lost for hours on social media instead of being present for the people we love.

As we begin this new year, it is easy for us to get lost in our goals, outcomes and resolutions for the future and although these our important for us in terms of our personal and professional development, we also need to consider the underlying habits that either keep us “stuck” or enable us to experience positive change.

Consider your current Habit System

Think about this carefully…if you struggle to exercise, it is because your current habit system is designed to keep you from working out.

We therefore need to pay close attention to the existing habits we have that are standing in our way; are we focusing more on scrolling through social media and watching TV than going to the gym, out walking or mediating?

Going forward, consider which new habits will allow you to make the changes you would like to see. This may relate to the results you wish to get in 2020; do you want to be more mindful and less distracted, less time binge watching and more time doing?

Build New Habits

Have you already thought about the few new habits that you wish to implement? If so, the next question you will be asking is how to build these new habits.

This can be achieved by stacking them on to the habits you already have, for example, you could want to spend less time on your mobile by not looking at your phone for an hour or two an evening and let that build up over time, which may lead to you not looking at your phone at all in the evening.

You are therefore stacking the new habit you wish to create on top of an existing habit so that it incorporates into your everyday life.