21 days to form/break a habit?

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ThinUpGirl
ThinUpGirl Posts: 397
in Chit-Chat
I was told that 21 days of consistent effort will help you form a new habit or break an old one.

Has anyone else heard this before?

Is 21 the magic number?

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  • douglasmobbs
    douglasmobbs Posts: 563 Member
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    21 is just a number as a guide everyone is different
  • sherrybaby81
    sherrybaby81 Posts: 257 Member
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    I don't believe it at all.
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    I think the magic is in the consistent and effort! :smile:
    But yes, I've heard that too
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    I can break a habit overnight, that's my whole downfall. If I don't workout every single day or I have a cheat day then I wont get back into it.

    I was an alcoholic one day, off the booze the next...no drinking for over 2 years now. Not one drop. My medication, cold turkey. on it one day, off totally the next.


    I think 21 is just an average.
  • TanyaCurtis
    TanyaCurtis Posts: 630
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    Heard something like that, yes! Can be true, but I can break that habit in one day, or I should say in one moment, if I don't watch myself carefully!
  • ThinUpGirl
    ThinUpGirl Posts: 397
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    Maybe its the smaller goals that are important.

    I just know for myself I've never been morning person, so I was thinking if I forced myself up for 21 days it might get easier.

    Soo.. maybe its more mind over matter.:grumble:
  • sugar_cube
    sugar_cube Posts: 23 Member
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    I read about this last week. In the 1960s Dr Maxwell Maltz saw that it took an average of 21 days for amputees to adjust to the loss of their limb, so he surmised that it would take people 21 days to make a life change/form a habit.
    I read that it takes more like 60 days to start doing something without thinking.

    I think the best thing would be to try it and see. Maybe you can form/break one in 21 days. I think it just depends on you/what the habit is.

    edit: good luck with becoming an early riser. I think it's doable. Anyway that's one of the things I'm trying to do. I figure if i do it for a month my body will start waking on it's own.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I have heard that. Supposed to be "scientifically proven" though I am not quite sure how one would be able to determine that "scientifically". Of course the longer one performs a new habit consistently, the more ingrained that habit will become. I think if one establishes a new habit for 21 days, it should be firmly established. That being said, establishing a new lifestyle is not exactly establishing a new habit since habits require repetition and there is nothing repetitive about nutritional change since we eat different things on different days.. (eat the same thing 21 days in a row and you are more likely to become bored with it than to establish a habit)... On the other hand, doing some type of exercise 21 days in a row (especially if it is varied) would probably help to ingrain that behavior in your life.... Again, do the same thing everyday, is more likely to induce boredom than habit so I would vary it somewhat...
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    Everyone is different of course, but I think that is the average.
  • Sarah_Wins
    Sarah_Wins Posts: 936 Member
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    Maybe its the smaller goals that are important.

    I just know for myself I've never been morning person, so I was thinking if I forced myself up for 21 days it might get easier.

    Soo.. maybe its more mind over matter.:grumble:

    This will totally work and probably in less than 21. I started getting up at 5am (as opposed to 6 for my whole adult life) to workout and within a few weeks I could no longer sleep past 6am even on my days off and after getting to bed at 2am.
  • Karmiene
    Karmiene Posts: 115 Member
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    Have you heard of three tiny habits? I'm getting ready to participate in a couple of weeks. (http://tinyhabits.com/) I haven't picked my habits yet but someone I know did it and said it was cool. He didn't pick habits centered around food or exercise though. It's all about baby steps.

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