The statement that "2 1 day forms a habit" needs to be verified.
Maxwell maltz, a plastic surgeon, found that it takes about 265,438+0 days for his patients to adapt to new faces, and 265,438+0 days for amputees to adapt. With these findings, Malc began to observe his adaptation period to changes and new behaviors, and found that it took him 265,438+0 days to form a new habit.
1960, Maxwell Malc expressed his thoughts on behavior change in his book Mind Control. "These common phenomena show that it takes at least 2 1 day for an old illusion to disappear and a new image to form."
But the problem has arisen. Mark's works are quoted by many self-help professionals, such as world sales master Ziggy Ziegler, American personal growth authority Bonn Tracy, and self-help writer and inspirational speaker Tony Robbins. Slowly, people simply simplified his words to "it takes 2 1 day to form a new habit", completely forgetting that what he originally said was "it takes at least 2 1 day". When this statement spread, more and more people repeated it many times. At last, people began to believe that it takes 2 1 day to form a new habit. But the problem is that Malc's results only come from the observation of people around him, and his words have not been scientifically verified. Besides, he just said how long it would take to adapt to a change.
How long does it take to form a habit?
Phillippa Lally, a health psychologist at University of London, and her team did a study to find out how long it takes to form a habit. Their research was published in the European Journal of Social Psychology. They investigated the habits of 96 participants 12 weeks. Each participant chooses a new habit for 12 weeks. Participants should report whether they adhere to this habit every day and the degree of automation of their behavior.
Some people choose simple habits, such as drinking a bottle of water for lunch. Some people choose more difficult tasks, such as running 15 minutes before dinner. At the end of 12 week, the researchers analyzed the data and got the time needed to form new habits.
It takes an average of 2 months to form a habit.
The study found that it takes an average of two months, or 66 days, before the habit becomes natural. But the formation of a habit needs to be expanded and influenced by many factors, such as different habits, different people and different environments. This study found that it takes 18-254 days to form a new habit. In other words, when you are ready to form a new habit, it actually takes 2 to 8 months, not 2 1 day. The researchers also found that "in the process of habit formation, if this behavior is not repeated for a day or two, it will not have much impact on the formation of habits."
The research results are encouraging.
First of all, don't blame yourself for not forming good habits after a few weeks. Because habits take longer to form, there is no need to jump to conclusions about yourself just because you can't control a behavior within 2 1 day.
Second, there is no need not to delay a day. Forgetting once or twice will not have much influence on the formation of long-term habits. Allow yourself to make mistakes, and it is important to find ways to get yourself back on track as soon as possible after making mistakes.
Third, we should work hard for every small progress from the beginning, not overnight.
It doesn't matter whether it takes 50 days or 500 days to form a habit. The most important thing to form a habit is to start at once, persevere and concentrate on this matter. (Translator/Wan)