[It] requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell.
Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics
I have started exercising. The first two or three days were easy; I put on the sneakers and walked. The fourth day I learned to connect the bluetooth headphones a friend loaned me and that gave me the incentive to get moving while listening to "Stranger in a Strange Land." The story kept me getting out for the last two weeks.
I was proud enough of the two weeks of consistent exercise that I screenshot my Mapmywalk app calendar and lined my friend. "2/3's of the way to a habit!" (and then sent him a pic of a Frida Kahlo-themed bar on my walk with the message "She missed you!").
Thinking about the quote to use for today, I decided on a quote about how it tales three weeks to establish a habit.
Yikes! So Wrong.
The Huffington Post article How Long Does It Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science) enlightened me of my error. It seems that self-helpers twisted Dr. Maltz's statement to mean that it takes three weeks to establish a new habit. Dr. Maltz is not entirely without blame here. He based his opinion, and other things, on his personal observations.
Thankfully, this has been researched. In the 2009 paper titled How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world it was established that the three weeks is pretty wrong. Per the Huffington Post article:
"Even though the study only ran for 12 weeks, the researchers were able to use the data to estimate the longer timelines (like 254 days) to form habits. Again, the exact time depends on a variety of factors and isn’t nearly as important as the overall message: Habits can take a long time to form."
I have not read the article, but that is my reading for tonight. This reading might not be what Mr. King was thinking of, but I like science research rather than old wive's tales and heresay.
Whether it is quotes or advice, I like to find data. This reminds me of the time when my boss was horrified that I swallowed my chewing gum. "I am going to teach you something now!" he expounded as he googled. It was interesting to see his face change as he read the google results.
My first boss after college used to quote " In God we trust, all others bring data," (which is another ubiquitous saying with hazy origins.
So, I am living with the disappointment that I am not 2/3's of the way to an exercise habit. It is more like 1/4 of the way to a habit. Oh well, I do have "Ready Player One" and "Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold" by Mr. Fry audio books.
Gratitudes: Audio books, yoga mats, and fried chicken.
Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics
I have started exercising. The first two or three days were easy; I put on the sneakers and walked. The fourth day I learned to connect the bluetooth headphones a friend loaned me and that gave me the incentive to get moving while listening to "Stranger in a Strange Land." The story kept me getting out for the last two weeks.
I was proud enough of the two weeks of consistent exercise that I screenshot my Mapmywalk app calendar and lined my friend. "2/3's of the way to a habit!" (and then sent him a pic of a Frida Kahlo-themed bar on my walk with the message "She missed you!").
Thinking about the quote to use for today, I decided on a quote about how it tales three weeks to establish a habit.
Yikes! So Wrong.
The Huffington Post article How Long Does It Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science) enlightened me of my error. It seems that self-helpers twisted Dr. Maltz's statement to mean that it takes three weeks to establish a new habit. Dr. Maltz is not entirely without blame here. He based his opinion, and other things, on his personal observations.
Thankfully, this has been researched. In the 2009 paper titled How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world it was established that the three weeks is pretty wrong. Per the Huffington Post article:
"Even though the study only ran for 12 weeks, the researchers were able to use the data to estimate the longer timelines (like 254 days) to form habits. Again, the exact time depends on a variety of factors and isn’t nearly as important as the overall message: Habits can take a long time to form."
I have not read the article, but that is my reading for tonight. This reading might not be what Mr. King was thinking of, but I like science research rather than old wive's tales and heresay.
Whether it is quotes or advice, I like to find data. This reminds me of the time when my boss was horrified that I swallowed my chewing gum. "I am going to teach you something now!" he expounded as he googled. It was interesting to see his face change as he read the google results.
My first boss after college used to quote " In God we trust, all others bring data," (which is another ubiquitous saying with hazy origins.
So, I am living with the disappointment that I am not 2/3's of the way to an exercise habit. It is more like 1/4 of the way to a habit. Oh well, I do have "Ready Player One" and "Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold" by Mr. Fry audio books.
Gratitudes: Audio books, yoga mats, and fried chicken.
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