How I Built My Swimming Habit
I used to have a nice swimming habit. I'm not good at building long-term habits, so I'm proud of myself at this success (even if it's a past one).
During the habit's peak, I swam three days a week, with a minimum of 100 pools (2.5km) a week. Usually more.
How did I manage to build this habit? There are a few mechanisms that, together, worked for me:
- ๐งโ๐คโ๐ง Commitment to Others ๐งโ๐คโ๐ง - Once a week, I went with a very consistent friend (consistent == doesn't cancel or postpone our swimming session a lot). The more commitment to and from others you can get for your habit, the better.
- ๐ Gradual Progress ๐ - I didn't start with the 100 weekly pools minimum. At first, I committed to 20 pools every time. Then to 30 pools some of the time, while keeping the 20 pools minimum. When I consistently succeeded in my goal, I added to it a little, until I've got to where I wanted to be.
- ๐คธโโ๏ธ Flexibility ๐คธโโ๏ธ - A weekly goal, as opposed to individual goal, allowed me to swim a bit less in tired days, and compensate in the next session. This reduced my chance of failing, and more success == more motivation.
- ๐ธ Capitalism ๐ธ - At the first few months, for every 8 successful weeks, I'd buy myself something that I wouldn't have otherwise. this doesn't mean "expensive" necessarily - it means something that you'd be happy to get as a present, but wouldn't usually buy for yourself. I bought two things before I felt that the habit was strong enough and I didn't feel the need to involve ๐ธcapitalism๐ธ anymore.
If you're looking for building a habit, I hope I could help a bit.
Are you working on a new habit these days? Which one? How's it going?
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