{"id":226,"date":"2009-10-27T15:13:25","date_gmt":"2009-10-27T15:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/yourcharmedlife\/2009\/10\/30-days-to-a-charmed-life-day-18-change-just-one-habit.html"},"modified":"2009-10-27T15:13:25","modified_gmt":"2009-10-27T15:13:25","slug":"30-days-to-a-charmed-life-day-18-change-just-one-habit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourcharmedlife\/2009\/10\/30-days-to-a-charmed-life-day-18-change-just-one-habit.html","title":{"rendered":"30 days to a charmed life Day 18: change just one habit"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

It’s unlikely that you can
\nchange any ingrained habit in a day. The ever-brilliant “they” (as in “they
\nsay…) report different time frames for letting go of one habitual practice and
\ninserting another in its place. I’ve heard everything from 21 days to a full
\nyear – a complete cycling through all four seasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

The amount of time I tend
\nmost to agree with is 16 weeks. I’ve seen in my own life and with my clients
\nthat this 4-month period is about right for making a change that lasts. (This
\ndoesn’t count for addictions, however: those you have to keep an eye on a day
\nat a time for the rest of your life.)<\/span><\/p>\n

So, this day 17 suggestion
\nmay indeed be for day 17 plus 16 weeks, and that is: “change just one habit.”
\nYou do yourself a favor if you choose a habit that’s already on the list of
\nthings you want to work on this month, or is at least related to something
\nthere. That way, you’re reinforcing an effort already being made. But you’re
\nfree, of course,  <\/span>to pick some
\noff-the-wall habit that has nothing to do with the other life changes you’re
\npaying attention to right now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Either way, figure out what
\nthe opposite<\/i><\/span> of this habit is and
\nwrite that down as your personal affirmation. Put it on Post-Its and on your desktop
\nand in your journal. Write it at least ten times a day and read it – aloud – at
\nleast thirty. Glue it to your memory. And most importantly, every time you
\nactually do this thing – this opposite action of the habit you want to sever –
\ngive yourself a fabulous compliment and, every now and then, an actual gift.
\nThis reinforces the positive change.<\/span><\/p>\n

The habit I want to change is
\nto get past the notion I’ve had for over a decade that any hours after dinner
\nare for vegging out. Of course I want to veg out some – that’s a basic need –
\nbut to spend from 7:30 to 10 every night doing nothing more productive except
\nbrush\/floss\/rinse and cleanse\/tone\/moisturize isn’t working for me. I want to
\nget into the habit of getting the dinner dishes done and the kitchen cleaned up
\nbefore ye olde veg-out time, and I want to get my financial records for the day
\n– income received, deductible expenses recorded – so that neither of those
\ntasks spills over to the next morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s see, this is October
\n27. Four months from now is February 27. I’ll keep you posted now and then
\nabout how I’m doing and I’ll give you a full report at the end of February. If
\nyou want to do the same, put your commitment and your progress reports in the
\nComments section – we’ll all be cheering you on. <\/span><\/p>\n

New Yorkers! – How would
\nyou like to live the “Look-Great, Feel-Fabulous, Never-Age Lifestyle”? Learn
\nhow this evening, Tuesday, October 27, when Victoria Moran presents this
\nlecture at 36th<\/sup> St. Studio, 260 W. 36th<\/sup> Street,
\nManhattan. The presentation is geared to actors, but all are welcome. Enroll by
\nemailing rsvp@36streetstudio.com<\/a>.
\nThere is no charge. A selection of Victoria’s books will be available for
\nsigning after the talk.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Change just one habit. Figure out what its opposite is, write that as your personal affirmation and glue it to your memory. And every time you actually do this thing, the opposite action of the habit you want to sever, give yourself a fabulous compliment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":177,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-solving-problems"],"yoast_head":"\n30 days to a charmed life Day 18: change just one habit - Your Charmed Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourcharmedlife\/2009\/10\/30-days-to-a-charmed-life-day-18-change-just-one-habit.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"30 days to a charmed life Day 18: change just one habit - Your Charmed Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Change just one habit. 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