Why are Good Habits so Hard to Keep?

Why are healthy habits so hard to form? It seems so backwards - forming unhealthy habits is a cakewalk. But the second you try to stick to something you know is good for you, it becomes nearly impossible.

This is a topic that regularly comes up in my journaling workshops (check out my upcoming ones here.) We can all get really hard on ourselves when the habits we’re trying so hard to implement get overturned by those somehow stronger urges to not have good habits.

Of course creating a habit of working out is good for us. And eating healthy. And journaling (hint, hint.) But, we simply can’t hold ourselves to being perfect with it all on day one. 

Or day 13. 

Or day 153. 

My point is, don’t beat yourself up when you’re working toward a new habit. Because we’re human and we’re never going to have a 100% success rate. 

If you pick up a notebook today and journal, but then go a full week without touching it, does that mean your journaling was in vain? Absolutely not. If you eat a huge salad for lunch then go out and gorge yourself on nachos and margs tonight, was that salad wasted? Nope. You still got those nutrients (and those nachos!) 

Yes, habits are hard to form. And we can be messy and inconsistent and lazy creatures. But we’re also resilient and full of muscle memory. And even the tiniest steps in the right direction still move us forward. 

So, go easy on yourself. You’re trying, and that alone is a huge success. 

And there’s no shame in starting as small as you need to start. Take journaling, for example. Maybe you’re really struggling to write every single day at first. I get it. Try making Sunday your journaling day, when you know you have the time and space. In time, you’ll build that muscle with your once a week writing that will just naturally start oozing into the rest of your week. Money back guarantee.

Hell, you can even start by just opening your journal every day. Don’t even write in it. Just have it next to you and open it. You’ll find with time that the simple act of intention will help new habits form more smoothly. Because every human in the history of ever has started with baby steps. Why do we expect ourselves to jump in with both feet and full, unwavering conviction from the beginning? 

I’ll say it again for the people in the back: Go easy on yourself. Remember that consistency doesn’t happen overnight. Applaud the baby steps.