Make Habits Fun

Humans are creatures of habit and routine. With any particular goal or idea requiring compounding effort, habits are how we achieve. We all have habits because they help us make the best use of our time, while also giving us small checklists of accomplishments and achievements as we complete them. Not every habit is one that we look forward to doing. Not every habit is one that we believe is the most fun part of our day. Not every habit remains for the long run. Some get old, stale, and boring and we begin to lose interest. As we lose our habits we may feel we lose a piece of ourselves. In an effort to prevent losing habits, we should opt to find ways to switch up and find ways to make the habit more enjoyable, fun, and exciting so we can look forward to it instead of avoiding it. Make habits fun and keep going.

Making a habit fun does not mean it will instantly become the most exciting and enjoyable part of your day. That is an unrealistic expectation to have when trying to change aspects of our routine. It is realistic to change small aspects of how we do our individual habits so that we can squeeze out any ounce of joy or excitement possible. If we are struggling to read every day, choose to switch up the scenery. Sit on your porch and opt to hear a background of birds chirping as you comb through pages. Read during a sunrise or sunset and have a background of a beautiful sky. Do anything other than your normal routine of crashing on your couch and trying to get through a chapter. This small switch-up will rapidly change how you view this habit and should give you a reason to be excited. Reading is absolutely not the only habit this sort of practice applies to. Any workout or activity can be slightly tweaked to ignite a spark of excitement within. If we are tired of running the same path, go to a track, run by the water, just switch it up!

Switching up scenery is an easy way to make habits seem more exciting but we can also find ways to be in competition with ourselves to make habits fun. By using strategies to track prior performance we are able to tangibly see our progress as well as stack days of doing the habit. If we journal for a week straight, we are able to turn the pages back and reread what we put down on the paper. At the same time, this week straight of the habit becomes an added incentive to keep going because we do not want to break the chain of success.

Habits are how we grow when we utilize long-term horizons. Habits are how we as humans operate on a day-to-day basis. If our habits are feeling stale, we must opt to find a way to make them fun again. Find the spark and continue on with a renewed sense of desire and demand for achievement.