CAN YOUR LIFE CHANGE IN 7 DAYS?

 

GOAL SETTING 

A busy woman interested in ways to change her life/Credit/Ketut Subiyanto

Summary

Ø Yes, your life can change in seven days.

Ø Science proposes that it takes at least 18 to 66 days for a new habit to stick.

However, in this post, you will learn two things you can implement to change your life in seven days.

When science talks about 18 to 66 days, it means serious life changing habits or processes. Habits such as, getting used to a new face after undergoing surgery on the nose. However, here it is about small steps you can take in seven days to change your life. We are talking about implementing small-scale habits. Habits that aim at enhancing your life. I will take my small-scale habit as an example. The habit began two months ago. I like drinking water. But I learned that with my marathon-like working style. It was impossible to drink as much water as, I wanted. I spent close to nine hours fixing different things that require me to stick with an idea from beginning to the end. To ensure that I drank as much water as I can. I initiated a practice that required me to drink water the first thing I set foot in the house every evening around eight. I have to drink at least five hundred milliliters of water. To ensure that I never missed an opportunity to drink water every evening, I had to fill a five hundred milliliter bottle with water. And placed it on the floor in the living room.

I placed the bottle on the right hand-side of the floor. This made it easy for me to see that bottle as soon as, I open the door. When I see it, I have to drink the water. There was no excuse. All I had to do was to take off my bag and pick the bottle. Drink up the water before unloading my bag and changing my clothes. I did that every day of the week. And it was fascinating. The practice was actually helping me drink enough water. I loved it because in the same evening, I could drink another bottle of water before going to bed. Two months later, the habit has stuck. And I love it. In my active working hours, I might not find enough time to drink water. But the habit was filling up the japs just well. A five hundred milliliters might not be eight glasses of water. However it was a practice that could actually lead to eight glasses of water every day.      

A joyful young woman changing her life using a new habit. Credit/Tirachard Kumtanom

Start A New Habit

The best way to change your life in seven days, is to start a new habit. Start a new simple habit that you have never done before. For me, it was drinking a five hundred milliliter of water every evening. For you, it can be something else. Something that you consider important but you don’t have enough time to incorporate it in your routine. A habit has to be important to you. Perhaps, you love writing in the morning. But you don’t have enough time in the morning. You have other activities to complete before getting to work. The best way to achieve your morning goal of writing is to wake up early. Waking up early is not easy. Not everyone is a morning person. Some people like their morning sleep. However, if the change you desire is important. You will have to learn to wake up early.

The best part of starting a new habit is the initial step you take. The moment you set your alarm to ring at a certain time. That is where your dedication begins. I learned that when I started my evening water routine. The habit started with me finding a bottle and filling it with water. The trick was to ensure the bottle had water every day. With water in the bottle, I could not escape drinking it. The strategy is to set up yourself. Find resources that are needed to make your habit possible. And focus on doing it every day for the next seven days. You will notice something. The practice will start taking root after you do it repeatedly for the next seven days. Waking up early could be a difficult practice. However, the moment you wake up the first day. The following day will be much easier than yesterday.

Changing your life in seven days might seem impossible. However, your life can change in seven days. It is possible to change your life in seven days. All it requires, is to know the new habit that you want to introduce to your life. We are different people. And that means different practices and habits. New habits can range from waking up early to create enough time to getting organized. If you would like to change your life in seven days, begin with a new practice. Something you have never done before but you deem it important. If writing in the morning gives you immense joy. Start waking up early. Write as the first thing after waking up before doing anything else. Write every day and see what writing every day will make you feel. Push yourself to wake up early for the first seven days. You will notice some change in those few days.

Curiosity

A lifestyle choice to change life. Photo/Wesley Davi

The next best thing to change your life in seven days is curiosity. The curiosity of how your life will become after incorporating a new habit. This is actually a nice energy that will help to enhance your life. Your curiosity will make you want to complete the new habit and see what will happen. I personally love this part. It helped to solidify my new practice. After drinking a bottle of water every day. I found out that I loved the idea of drinking water as the first thing I set foot in the house. By the end of seven days, the practice had taken root. Curiosity made it continue to its second month and it has been amazing. I am more hydrated than ever. You might not be sure what you are doing in the beginning. However, curiosity gives you the motivation to actually stick with the same practice for seven days. The thought of wanting to know what will happen is exciting. It energizes you and keeps you on track.

You could be struggling with your new habit. However, curiosity will push you to the end. It will make you keep waking up early even when you don’t like it. The mere fact that you just want to know what waking up early will make you after seven days is a good enough reason. Curiosity makes your new habit sustainable. And this is great.  You will begin a totally new thing and sustain it with your curiosity. The feeling is good. It is empowering. It is life changing. Changing your life in seven days might not be how you want to achieve change. However, it is a nice place to initiate big changes in your life. It comes down to how you look at seven days. Seven days is a lot of time. Seven days is a lot of hours. You can achieve a lot in seven days. If you have something you have been thinking about, now is the right time to implement it. Start that new thing and watch your life will change.