Over the last two weeks we have shared how to begin a new habit, followed by having a habit-building-friendly environment. This week explores 3 tips around keeping the momentum going as time passes. At some point in building a new habit, motivation to keep going and performing typically wanes a bit. These 3 tips will help you to stay motivated to building your new habit.

Last week we shared 3 ways to set up your habits.

This week we will explore 3 more tips from James Clear, author of bestselling Atomic Habits, to continue to build your practice of starting a new habit. These habits revolve around your environmental design, reducing friction, and priming your habit environment to spur you forward to building successful habits.

One of my favorite reads of the past few years was James Clear’s Atomic Habits. Numerous people in my ADAPT Functional Health Coaching sang the praises of this book. I read it and quickly became a disciple. Clear’s in-depth research around habit creation enables him to give the reader tools that exponentially increase one’s ability to successfully create a new habit. As long as the reader is willing to put in the time, they are bound to have triumph over starting or stopping a habit. Clear explains, “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” Let’s dive into a few of the tools Clear shares for habit-building.

One of the authors and spiritual guides I’ve connected with is Gabby Bernstein. A friend and I recently completed 21 days of meditation with her guidance and I’m constantly learning more about meditation and prayer. I LOVE it. Don’t read that and think it’s easy. It can be a struggle oftentimes, and it requires discipline. But I love opening my heart to a deeper connection with God. Learning to live in the flow, stop resisting, and being open to what God wants for my life is making my life 1. More exciting 2. More fun! 3. EASIER. Ahhhhhh! Life is hard sometimes, let’s explore ways to make it easier!

During my time alone, I went inside myself, thought about my desires, practiced letting go of some things I’d been clinging to, meditated, did some yoga, read a little, journal my thoughts, and I enjoyed my own company. There are numerous benefits for spending time alone. Here are ten reasons you should fly solo for a bit. Plus, a few tips for getting in alone time in small segments.

During my time away, a sweet little paperback book found me and every time I picked it up, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of peace, and smile ear to ear before I set it back down. It is called Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh. One of the essays written is specifically about transforming your feelings, and it was just what I needed for this fear story loop that my brain was spinning.

Nhat Hanh breaks down the process of transforming painful feelings into five steps.

Learning to surrender has been a challenging process. I can finally say with utter honesty in my heart and my head: I am OK if we do or do not live in that house. And life is so much easier now! I feel FREE. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that I TRUST in whatever the outcome is! Here are the steps that helped me on my journey to surrender.

This work of wholehearted living is a never-ending process. You can work hard to get to the point where, deep in your core, you have learned to care significantly less what people think about you, and then six months later pick up that habit again as if you’d never done the work to stop. Growing into this version of a wholehearted-living human, who is letting go of what does not serve us, while cultivating the traits that lead us to deeper fulfillment, is a lifetime process.

Before you do ANYTHING, let yourself GO THERE emotionally. This can be challenging for some of us as we like to steer clear of the emotions we don’t want to feel. But sitting, feeling the funk, letting yourself be sad/down/funked diminishes those hard feelings. We simply have to ride that wave of emotion without fighting it. It acknowledges our humanity and that life isn’t always cheerful.

Only once we have properly felt those challenging emotions we begin to do the things that we know make us feel better. Here are a few of those that, when done regularly, can make a huge impact on our happiness quotient.

A solid routine fosters a well-worn groove for one's mental energies and helps stave off the tyranny of moods. Having a routine can be helpful in times of unpredictability, uncertainty, and stress. Setting a daily routine creates structure, helps us reach our goals and reduces procrastination. Entrepreneur.com says, “The real power in routines is the way they can help us build momentum, break bad habits, prioritize our lives and make us more efficient.”