Did you know that on average, it takes roughly 66 days to develop a habit? Thats basically two months. But some habits can take much less time to form--as low as 18 days. That's less than 3 weeks!
I mention this because I think it can be really intimidating, sometimes, to set seemingly unattainable goals, especially as we usher in a new year. It's helpful to remember that will-power, discipline, and motivation, while important, may not always be the dispositive factor when it comes to sustaining a desired behavior.
Sometimes, your body will continue doing something you don't really wanna do simply because it's a habit.
Growing up, I used to get terrible panic attacks. When reality got a little too overwhelming, I would black out. The first time it happened, I was probably around 8 years old. My grandmother was yelling at me for causing a ruckus while a guest was over. I was standing in the doorway of our kitchen right next to my brother, knees locked and breath ragged. Her high-pitched voice began to fade away as if into a mist and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the sticky linoleum floor, my head propped up against the lower row of kitchen cabinets. My grandmother's voice--now panicked--shrieked my name, Sunyoungah, Sunyoungah!! straight into my ear, until I finally opened my eyes.
The next time I fainted dead away was when my ears got infected from of a pair of cheap, violet heart-shaped earrings I picked up from Spencer's. I was probably around 10 and had just gotten my ears pierced. Though I was told I should wait a full month before changing out the 24 kt gold starter studs, I was too excited to show off my pierced ears at school with something much flashier. Within 24 hours, though, my earlobes felt heavy, throbbing and red. Out came the cheap purple earrings; but, as my mother began re-inserting the boring golden studs, I face planted straight into her bed. My poor brother, who was now witness to both my black outs, assumed my mother had killed me with an earring and began sobbing hysterically.
Why am I telling you about these panic attacks? Because my third black out occurred during 4th period wood shop, when I was in 6th grade. What was the cause of my panic? I'd learned, earlier that day, that in gym glass (6th period), we were slated to run 20 minutes in a row. Up until that point in my life, the longest we'd ever had to run was 6 minutes. 6 minutes!!! The thought of running 20 minutes all at once was simply unfathomable to me. So much so that I clean fainted in the middle of wood shop class, my head conking rather terrifically (according to witnesses) on the tiled floor. An ambulance was called and I was carted off to the emergency room.
In other words, I hated the idea of running so much, it literally caused me to black out.
Indeed, my husband mentioned the other day, "Look, most people don't relish the idea of running every morning. But you... you really hate it!" And it's totally true. I don't like running. I don't like walking. I don't strength training. I don't like boot camps. I don't like swimming. I don't like bicycling.
I don't like moving.
Some people are born to love moving their bodies. I am not one of them. I love sitting around, lying in bed, or soaking life's angst away in a hot shower.
And yet, here I am. I've been running for 13 years. In fact, just this morning, I spent about 56 minutes, in a row, running on the treadmill. I went from hating running to... well... still hating running!
My first run was in January 2013. It was about .75 miles and it took me 13 minutes to complete (not including the 5 minute break I allowed myself at the turnaround point, during which I sat on a bench looking across Lake Michigan). I hated that run. It was sweaty, tiring, a little humiliating, and totally uncomfortable. But it was also... motivating. Wow! I did something I hated in the name of health. That motivation propelled me to run that .75-mile course a few more times until I eventually completed 1 mile (in a row!). Which then turned into 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, and then... 26.2 miles.
I'm a long distance runner who--wait for it--still hates running.
This is the power of habits, when combined with just a little motivation.
The truth is, I just needed motivation to start. Maybe a little bit to keep me going for a few weeks, maybe a couple months. But eventually, motivation will and did give way to my body's natural disinclination to move. Luckily, though, the habit had already been formed. And it was powerful enough to compensate for my waning motivation.
Today, however much I dislike running, I simply cannot imagine my life without it. Like, it actually frightens me to think of my life without running.
Isn't that crazy??
I think it is!!
Anyhoot, if you're motivated to start something new this year, something uncomfortable, something even, well, detestable, in the name of good health (physically or mentally), remember that it can take as little as 18 days for your body to start doing that thing by muscle memory. Because that's a finish line we can all aim for.