The other day at church the Stake President spoke to us during Sunday School. (The LDS church is split up by territories, where wards are the smallest municipalities. Stakes generally includes about 10 or so wards... So you could call it something like a district or a division.)
Anyhow, the Stake President said that studies have shown that habits can be made or broken if they are worked on for 21 days. He then challenged us to try it ourselves and see if we couldn't improve our lives by changing something for 21 days.
Researched
Although I've heard this before, I've always wondered about what the studies really were. A quick search on google afforded
this answer:
"The 21-day concept was
first introduced by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, in a book titled,
'
Psycho-Cybernetics'"
...
"Dr Maxwell Maltz wrote the bestseller Psycho-Cybernetics. Originally a Plastic Surgeon, Maltz noticed that it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling phantom sensations in the amputated limb. From further observations he found it took 21 days to create a new habit. Since then the '21 Day Habit Theory' has become an accepted part of self-help
programs.
Brain circuits take engrams (memory traces), and produce neuroconnections and neuropathways only if they are bombarded for 21 days in a row. This means that our brain does not accept ?new? data for a change of habit unless it is repeated each day for 21 days (without missing a day)."(
Link).
My Struggles
I've been struggling for quite some time with weight and health issues. Although it may be hard to believe, at one point in my life I was actually pretty slim and fit, but bad eating habits and a lack of excercise have left me hating the mirror.
My husband and I bought a Wii Fit some time ago but after about two weeks of continuous excersise we just kind of stopped for one reason or another, and although I was definitely seeing a difference, once I stopped I couldn't get myself to start up again.
So, for my first 21 day experiment, I'm going to try to excercise on the Wii Fit every day for the next 21 days. I'll be posting regular updates here, to help remind myself in the future (if I can keep this up!) of my accomplishments.
Generally declarations aren't really enough for me to keep to my commitments, so my husband and I devised a backup positive/negative reinforcement plan: If I miss a day in the week, I'm not allowed to go to Joann's Fabrics for the next week. If I don't miss a day, I get to buy myself something nice as a reward.
Is anyone up to joining me on a 21 day quest (What about you Lent-ers?)? (If you do, link me to your blogs! I want to see your progress!)
If you could choose a habit to pick up or drop for the next 21 days, what would you choose?
Comments (8)
masturbation
@vampuke - Doing it every day or not doing it every day?
i joined the gym and its super awesome :) and i track my daily foods on the livestrong.com dailyplate calorie tracker. 7 pounds in 7 weeks!
lol @above
I read Psycho-Cybernetics in 1973, it's a classic. Though I'm suspicious of the 21 day thing because people report phantom feelings much longer, he might have observed what he wanted to. Though I am questioning that one point now, he nailed many psychological issues decades ago. When I first heard the word "cyberspace" etc, it sure was a 'blast from the past', I first heard 'cyber' from his book.
My sport is basketball practice. Keeps me moving and unbored. So much so that I quit the YMCA just recently.
@honeynutmegreturns - I'm going for 1lb a week too!
WE CANDO IT!
@DailyKevin - I really admire people who can do sports as excercise. I wish I could do any sport... but two things always hinder me: 1. I'm not especially interested in sports, and 2. I'm really uncoordinated. #2 might have been what lead to #1 early in life for me. Ha.
Do it for Joannes!
I walked by the vending machine today and the first thing that my eyes landed on were the chocolate cookies T_T