The Three-Week Rule: How to Improve Your Quality of Life in Just Twenty-One Days

     It's difficult to say what's harder, breaking old habits or starting new ones. Personally, I've always had trouble with both of these efforts, and the same thing seems to happen almost every time. I begin my campaign confident and enthusiastic, ready to make a change and I usually do a pretty good job of sticking to it for the first few days. But as the first week rolls along and the improvements aren't as rapid as I'd like, I end up quitting. Or a busy day hits in the middle of the week and the distractions simply overpower my new goals and I revert back to my old ways and leave my new aspirations by the wayside.

     Well after recently succeeding in changing a few of my own habits, I feel like I've found a pretty decent blueprint for success. It's not flawless or foolproof by any means, but its been working for me so you may as well give it a try, right?

     First and foremost, you must establish a strong motive for taking on this change in your lifestyle. In other words, you need to answer the question, why? Why do you want to make this change? What are the benefits? How will it improve your quality of life? The bottom line is, if you don't have a good reason for doing something, not only will you be less enthusiastic about it, but you're also more likes to fail or to give up due to lack of interest and motivation. A simple example would be if you wanted to quit swearing. Why do you want to do this? If your answer is a simple, "because swearing is bad," then you're probably not going to follow through. But if you take a moment to realize that you want to break your habit of casually swearing in order to prepare for your professional life after graduation, then there is a much higher chance of success.

     The second step is a matter of commitment. In order to truly change a habit, you need to be willing to commit a minimum of three weeks of effort. After the first couple of days, its easy to say, "oh, this isn't for me," or, "I can't do this," but you haven't even given yourself a chance. This is especially true for anything that involves a physiological change (i.e. changes in diet, exercise, or sleep patterns). The reason is simple enough: you need to give your body time to adapt to the changes you're putting it through, and 2-3 days just isn't enough. This is why I like the three week layout, because while this may not be a 100% accurate breakdown, it makes it easy to divide into three stages of transition:

1. The first week is always the toughest; this is the week in which your body is going to experience a little bit of a shock depending on how significant your changes are. Everyone who has gone through at least one "first week" of lifting or working out should understand this. If you're making a change in exercise habits, this is going to be the week in which you experience the most soreness; if you're making a dietary change, this is the week in which you may experience low energy or mood swings, maybe even "intestinal issues." The first week is when you need to be the most determined and motivated to stick to your decision to change your lifestyle; brighter days are ahead.
2. By the beginning of the second week, you have given your body some time to adjust to your new habits. This is the week in which you should begin to see positive results. If you're working out, you're going to experience less soreness, and you should be able to notice that you're already getting stronger and more fit. If you're trying out new dietary habits, this is when your energy levels should become higher and more consistent. This week should serve as motivation in itself as your hard work begins to pay dividends. But you're not done yet.
3. By the third week, your body has adapted and you have begun to see the positive effects. By building on your week two results, you now have a chance to gain some real insight into what it would be like to make this a permanent lifestyle change. In week three, you can also begin tweaking your regimen to find out what works best for you. At the end of the week, you should know whether or not you really want to continue with this change. If you do, that's great and you've already given yourself a three week head start; if not, that's okay, too, because you know that it isn't for lack of effort and you're not quitting on yourself.

     I also recommend going into the three-week period with a concrete plan. Spend some time doing a little research on what exactly you're trying to do, and figure out the best way to do it. I can guarantee you that you're not the first person to attempt this change, whatever it may be. Then, draw up a work-out schedule or menu and stick to it. Remember to keep it simple at the beginning; you can't expect to jump right into the thick of things. If you're beginning to work out, ease yourself into it with a few shorter and more moderate-intensity workouts (not only will this make it easier for you to start, but it will help you avoid injury). If you're changing your eating habits, I recommend choosing a few simple meals that fit your new dietary requirements and just repeating them for the first few weeks until you've gotten the hang of things. Try to make the workouts something that you enjoy and the recipes easy to prepare so you're new habit doesn't seem like a chore.

     And that's it! Like I said, this is not flawless but it works for me and I think its a pretty good blueprint for success. Please feel free to comment, especially if you're going to try it!