Why you should focus on changing your habits instead of setting goals this new year

Why Changing Habits Is More Powerful Than Setting GoalsI am all about setting goals, and it’s usually my go-to method for achieving something, but this year I have really tried to take a step back and work on my habits instead.Habits dictate so much of what we do in our lives, and as we work to create good habits we will see slow but permanent behavior change start to emerge in a way that takes less effort than traditional goal-setting.Myths About Changing HabitsI am sure you have heard that it takes 21 days to create a new habit.I am also pretty sure that you could tell me about many instances where you have changed a behavior for more than 21 days only to fall right back into old habits.Did you know that this 21-day thing is a total myth?It’s comes from a Plastic Surgeon named Maxwell Maltz in his book psycho cyberkinetics about self-image. In this book he states that it took his clients roughly 21 days to get used to their new image after surgery.He also noted, that in his own life he noticed it took a minimum of 21 days to form a habit.So, our idea that it takes 21 days to form a habit comes from a book that is usually mis-quoted where zero actual research was done.So How Long Does It Actually Take To Form A New Habit?Let’s dig into some actual research, shall we?A study posted in the European journal of social psychology found that it took anywhere from 18-254 days to make a behavior change regarding eating or drinking habits.This range is huge, and most individuals took much longer than the expected 21 days.Not to mention, that even this study has it’s limitations. This study looked at only 39 individuals, and only habits related to eating and drinking.The takeaway? Changing habits is complex and different for everyone!Why Goals Aren’t Always The Best Way To SuccessSo what is the best way to work on changing your habits? Should you make a goal?There are loads of books out there on habit change, and this topic is sure to come up more on another day, but in my experience changing a habit looks just a bit different than a goal. Let me give you an example of a goal that I set that would have been more effective if I had looked at changing my habits instead.Like many others, I have baby weight that I would like to lose.This summer I made a SMART goal to lose 15 lbs by the end of summer. If you aren’t familiar with the SMART model, the idea is to achieve your goals it should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.So let’s make my goal to lose 15 lbs a smart goal.Specific-Yes, it’s a specified number of lbsMeasurable-Yup, you can measure the number of lbsAttainable-As a dietitian, I know that weight loss at a rate of 1 lb per week is a reasonable and healthy goalRealistic-This one is questionable, I should have probably accounted more time for plateaus etc…but as stated earlier, a weight loss of 1 lb per week when making appropriate changes is fairly realisticTimely-Yup, I would complete my goal by the end of the summer.So let’s look at what actually happened. I made drastic lifestyle changes to make this goal happen including cutting out sugar almost entirely, increasing whole foods, decreasing carbs and overall calories.One week I got on the scale, and YAHOO, I’d lost 2 lbs!The next week however, I was up 3This pattern continued and at the end of 7-8 weeks I gave up, because suddenly my SMART goal was no longer attainable in the time allowed.This is why I think that goals are not always the best tool for the type of change we need to make.