5 Habits For Success: How To Stay Motivated

Creating Habits for Success

Do you struggle to make habits stick? Can you relate to the difficulty of implementing new habits, even though you really want to make the change? In the beginning you're full of enthusiasm, only to lose focus a few weeks later…

Weeks 2 – 3 are often the hardest when you're working towards new goals. The initial buzz of week 1 fades as the reality of actually having to do the work sinks in.

This is where habits fit in. Introducing supportive habits helps you stay grounded, maintain momentum, and focus on the small daily actions.

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I'm all for making life and business a little easier, so here are 5 simple but effective tips to help your new habits for success stick!

Can You Relate?

Picture this: You've got a BRILLIANT idea that's been buzzing around in your head. You finally decide to give it your focus & plan the next few weeks or months to get it off the ground and bring it to life.

Day 1: Motivation is high. You're full of energy and excitement.

Days 5-7: You're feeling proud of yourself and productive – and take the weekend off to rest and recharge.

Day 8: The spark has dimmed a little and your initial enthusiasm isn't as strong. The initial fun and creative bits stages are done, and now it's time to tackle the less exciting tasks.

Days 9-13: Life begins to get in the way, and the new routine feels boring and repetitive. Your routine begins to slip as you avoid the more challenging parts. DIstraction kicks in.

Days 14+: You find yourself questioning the whole project. You might find yourself getting caught up on the fun or easier tasks, but avoiding the tasks that you need to do slows your progress. For many, this is the time you'll quit or totally change direction because you don't believe it's working.

Sound familiar? If yes, trust that there is a way you can shift this pattern and reignite your excitement and focus by introducing simple, realistic habits for success from day one.

What Are Habits for Success?

When you're working towards a goal, some tasks will feel natural, and come more easily to you, while others will feel take more effort. That's completely normal, and is where the power of habits come into play. 

Building habits, isn't some complicated notion that only a few can manage… They're not glamorous, they're simply small, consistent habits that you repeat over time.

The power is in the repetition. The daily showing up is how you will make habits stick for good. Once you commit to this, sticking to goals will feel much easier!

Tips for Creating Habits That Stick

1. Get Clear on Your WHY.

Ask yourself:

• Why do you want to create this habit?
• How will it benefit you in the long term?

Your why is what will keep you going when motivation eventually dips. When you are regularly connected to, or reminded of your why, will keep the excitement and buzz of what you’re doing alive. It will help to keep you connected to your goal, and keep procrastination at bay.

Grit and determination are needed during low energy moments, so having your goal front and center, as a shining light, will remind you why you began. Make note of your why, and put it somewhere you can see if often. I have mine printed and stuck on the wall above my computer.

2. Be Mindful of Instant Gratification

We live in a world of quick fixes, and where what we want is only a click away. In many cases we don’t have to wait for weeks or months for something. This ‘new world' is removing that innate understanding of patience, and not instantly responding to external stimuli.

When you’re working towards a bigger goal that will take a longer time For example, 12 months), the distance from where you are right now, to where you want to be can simply feel too far away, making it easy to lose steam.

This is why micro-wins are so important. This feeds the need of your ego, giving yourself that feeling of accomplishment that helps to keep your motivation high.

Normalise celebrating every inch of progress you make. Everytime you show up – even if it's only for a few minutes – acknowledge it! If your goal has multiple complex steps, identify milestones, and celebrate when you achieve them along the way.

3. Start Small (Really Small!)

This isn’t an excuse to not challenge yourself, it’s a way to build up to bigger habits for success. Big changes often fail because they're too big too soon.

Start with a small version of the habit, something so easy you can't talk yourself out of it.

For example, if you want to introduce a new morning routine, it may be more difficult to maintain if you suddenly introduce an entire routine in one go.

To begin with you might want to choose to set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier, or instead of jumping into 30 minutes daily journaling, start with 5 minutes. After a week of focusing on that small change, gently increase the time or intensity.

If you're creating a writing habit, commit to just 15 minutes a day. Once it feels natural, build from there. Yes you can probably write for longer, but the benefit is in the repetition of showing up each day for that minimum period of time.  

4. Reflect and Review Regularly

As you grow and change, your habits will as well. Regularly check in and reflect on how you’re finding them, and how helpful they are. Ask yourself some key questions, for example: Is it time to increase the habit or adapt or change it? Are they still helping you stay aligned and on track with your bigger goal?

Checking that your habits are still supporting you to achieve these goals is key.

5. Celebrate Everything

Set yourself achievable daily goals, and celebrate your progress every evening, regardless of how small the steps may feel. It is extremely motivating when you're in the thick of it and still a distance from your bigger goal.

Success builds confidence, so celebrate the smaller things each day, the progress you're making not just the outcomes, to strengthen the new habits.

Plan celebrations or little rewards. They don't need to be big – it could be a short walk, a day off to relax, or treating yourself to new stationery (always my go-to!).

How Long Does it Take to Build New Habits?

In a study carried out by Lally, Van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle in 2009, they found that around 66 days is how long that repetitiveness of a habit becomes a lifestyle change.

You've probably heard about the 21-day rule, but a study shows that for habits to begin to work it actually takes between 18 – 66 days. For the habit / behaviour to become automatic, it can take anywhere between 18-254 days.

This study highlights that we are all different, and we should approach these things with a mindset of flexibility and fluidity. We process, learn, and do things differently, therefore it's likely that introducing habits for success to alter or improve behaviour will also vary.

The more consistent you are with those daily reps (e.g. writing for at least 15 minutes every day), the more ingrained it will become. Okay, it's not that glamourous or exciting, and can take a while, but consistently showing up is what works!

What are Your Habits for Success?

If you're about to start on a new project, or you want to re-engage with a project, think about the habits that you could introduce to help you set yourself up for success.

You don't need to make ALL the changes in one go. Focus on where you are right now and what would be most helpful for you to bring your goals to life.

Approach these new habits experimentally. Use them to help you maintain focus as you face obstacles. Find what works for you, and go with it.

Use these habits to approach the tasks you don't enjoy or the surprises that life springs on you with more flexibility. Remove that all-or-nothing thinking when it comes to habit formation and achieving goals.

Remember, it's not all-or-nothing. If you miss a day or two, you've not failed. You're already building neural pathways every time you show up. So you won't be ‘back at square one'. Just start again from where you are, and carry on.

Reflect, reset and carry on!

Your habits might look completely different from someone else's – and that's okay! Your habits are designed for your life, your energy, and your goals.

Tools, Resources & Support

Here are some of my favourite tools and resources, some are my own products, others are from services I use within my own business.

Daily CBT Printable Journal – Create your own daily habit with this undated printable CBT journal page.

Skool – Create your own community on Skool. As an introvert, it's now one of my favorite places to hang out! The communities I'm in are fantastic, and as a user I prefer the simplicity of the set up. You can create communities, lessons within those communities and gamify to encourage engagement. There's a 14 free trial period as well!

BigScoots – If you're looking for a top quality host for your website, I cannot recommend BigScoots enough. They are one of the best for bloggers, and their customer service is brilliant. They are very responsive & work closely with you to resolve any issues or answer any questions you may have.

Anti Procrastination Bundle – A set of productivity worksheets to help you set goals, create a plan and stay motivated and focused. Includes brain dumps and habit trackers to support your daily growth!

Etsy – Are you ready to create your own online store? Etsy is a brilliant shopping platform that's used by millions. Setting up your store is simple, and when you sign up with this link we both get 40 free listings!

Final Thoughts

When motivation fades, creating habits for success is what will help you to continue pushing through.

Habits take the pressure off constant decision-making, and creates flexible but effective routines that enable you to focus on what actually needs to get done.

Habits not only help you with your professional projects, but with your personal goals as well. They do take time initially, but once ingrained will make a huge difference for you, saving you a whole heap of time & effort moving forward.

Remember, this isn't about chasing perfection. It's about consistency. The magic is in the rinse & repeat of your daily actions. If you focus on the reps, even though they're not always exciting, you will make progress towards your goals.

How do you make habits stick? I'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts, please share below 🙂

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Meet Lynsey

Hey there! I'm Lynsey, a counsellor, coach and mentor for women who want to create change, but are feeling lost, uncertain and exhausted. With over 7 years’ experience of training, running businesses, and over a decade as a tutor and adult trainer, I've learned the value of a gentle and intentional approach to work and life that energises you without draining all of your energy.

I've lived with ME/CFS since 2011, and since then re-trained as a counsellor, and achieved a distinction for my Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice; all while running 4 businesses!

How? Improving your mindset, finding acceptance in yourself, and developing a gentle, but solution-focused approach to achieving goals is key. Knowing that it's not about how fast you move, but finding your own pace and trusting that you can achieve your goals in your own way, one step at a time.

If you'd like to know more about working with me, you can email [email protected] or find me on socials (links in the menu)

Have you seen my online store Quietly Conquer – Find DFY templates, downloads and more!