One of the reasons many people don’t stick with the new habits is because they love the idea of the results that they’ll achieve, but they don’t love the idea of actually doing it.

Unfortunately, the actions necessary to create life changing habits hardly ever sound appetizing.

But what if we changed that? 

What if we could find a way to make the “doing” part of forming new habits seem more appealing? 

In this post, I’ll offer a simple strategy to accomplish this, so you can start new habits and routines with ease.

The Strategy

In the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, Clear explains that one of the easiest ways to get into a habit is to “optimize for the starting line, not the finish line.” (Here’s a presentation on habit formation by James Clear).

In other words, focus on making the very first minutes of your habit easy, so you’ll feel more inclined to start. By optimizing the start of your habit, you’ll help yourself get over the barrier that stops so many people from changing their lives: the reluctance to start.  

But I’d like to take it one step farther. In addition to making the first few minutes of your habit easy, another way of optimizing the start is to make those crucial minutes as pleasurable as possible.  

We’ll call it “Sweetening The Start.”

In other words, if you can adjust the beginning of your habit to make it more appealing to you, you’ll reduce the discomfort you experience when you think about the “doing” part of it. 

And THAT will make it inherently easier to follow through. 

Here’s a short list of the 3 main ways to do that:

Ways to Sweeten the Start of Your Habits

There are some super simple ways to sweeten the start of your habits to make starting and sustaining them a whole lot easier. So stop trying to form habits the hard way and use one of these the next time you’re trying to change up your habits.

Note: Each of these items will likely work for different kinds of habits, so as you read through this list, ask yourself “How could I apply this to the habit I’m trying to form?” and brainstorm a bit. If it doesn’t match up, then try out a different one :).

1. Use Music as a Warm Up

Music is incredibly powerful. As you’ve likely experienced, music can have a profound effect on our hearts and our minds. It can take us into memories we had forgotten and evoke emotions we didn’t know we had access to. 

(For an emotional example of this, I suggest watching the video of Marta C Gonzalez, a former prima ballerina who danced with the New York Ballet in the 1960s, as she listens to the finale of Swan Lake, and despite suffering from Alzheimers, remembers her choreography from decades ago.)

But instead of just googling “good music for cleaning” or “good music for waking up early in the morning,” seek out songs that evoke a feeling that will help you start your habit.

To do this, spend some time with yourself. Listen to various genres and artists you enjoy and allow yourself to notice how specific songs affect you. Ask yourself what feeling (that arises from listening to music) would be helpful in achieving your goal. Then select songs based on that.

When I was trying to make a habit of getting up early in the morning to workout, I knew that feeling energized would help me follow through, but I also needed something gentle enough to wake up to. So I designed a playlist to meet those criteria. When I woke up every morning, I’d put on the playlist instead of hitting snooze. 

When it played, I’d spend the first few minutes of my morning focusing on the music, and as the songs played, it regularly helped me feel much more inclined to get out of bed and put my workout clothes on. 

Some of the songs I included in my playlist were the following: 

Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel

Youth by Glass Animals

Rawnald Gregory Erikson the Second by STRFKR

Goodmorning by Bleachers

Tip: If you’re not much of a music person, consider posting on facebook or some other social media platform and asking for suggestions! Someone will likely be happy to share with you whatever comes to their mind. 

2. Make Resetting The First Step

This one is a bit of a mindfulness practice. By taking a moment to reset, you can not only bring yourself to a better place mentally, but also start dissolving the hesitance or fears that bubble up when you think about following through. 

Some of these are more pleasurable than others, but some ways of resetting include…

1. Taking a moment to check in: Allow yourself to notice and acknowledge how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking. Are you being kind to yourself?
2. Taking some deep breaths to get to a more relaxed and clear-headed state
3. Reminding yourself of why you want to start/continue your habit: Take some time to think about those awesome results you’re dreaming of!
4. Giving yourself credit for the days you did follow through so far, and taking a short moment to celebrate them: This will be easier to do if you have some sort of habit tracker so you can physically see your successes. (Check out our related post: Celebrating Small Wins)
5. Reviewing positive feedback: If you have any record or memory of positive feedback you’ve received from others, let yourself think about that positive feedback, so you can feel good about what you’re trying to achieve.
6. Reminding yourself that the habit you’re attempting is an investment in yourself: You’re doing this for you. 

I know these all sound super simple, but they’re great ways of improving your mindset as you prepare to engage in your new habit. 

Using resetting to sweeten the start doubles as a form of self-care. It can improve your self-awareness and your relationship with yourself, as well as make it easier to get the ball rolling for your desired habit.

3. Get Comfortable

Another way to sweeten the start of your habits is to do whatever you can to make yourself comfortable in preparation for your habit. If you make “getting comfortable” a part of your routine for “starting” the habit, then you’re adding something positive/appealing to the equation that makes the task itself less daunting. 

Obviously, not all habits are as conducive to comfort as writing from the safety of your own home. So you might have to get creative about how to increase the comfort associated with your habit. 

Getting comfortable usually involves stimulating the senses in some way, but it could also involve doing anything that brightens your mood or sparks joy. So if you get in touch with what brings you joy, you’ll likely find that there are many options for increasing comfort. 

(Check out our related post: How to Add True Joy to Your Life)

5 Ways to Add Comfort to New Habits 

1. For a workout or physical activity, consider putting on clothes that are comfortable or stretching in ways that feel good to you.
2. For very short/simple habits, consider picking out an accessory that you enjoy (for example, if you’re trying to drink more water daily, then choose a “special cup” that sparks joy for you, and use that.)
3. If you would enjoy doing a habit with someone else, consider asking a friend to participate with you (I often do this for journaling or self-care habits)
4. For cleaning, put in headphones or turn on the speakers and select a podcast or some music to listen to. 
5. For learning or trying something new, try spending a few minutes seeking out tips and tricks online. Scrolling on your phone is already comfortable, so why not use some screen time to gather some information? 

If none of that works, consider adjusting your location. 

There are plenty of people who need separate spaces for work, rest, and play. If we weren’t in a pandemic, I’d suggest going to a new place, like a park, a coffee shop, a library,  or a gym: whatever is conducive to your habit. But for now, we’ve got to work with what we’ve got. 

So if you find that you’re having a hard time starting something, then try taking yourself to a different room, your backyard, or even just a different chair. Any change of scenery can really change how we feel about doing things, and potentially open the door for us to do more, and do more more often.

Now That You Have The Strategy, It’s Time to Start!

Regardless of what habit you’re trying to develop, you likely already have the essential tools to be able to do it. You have a body, a brain, and the ability to choose what you do with them. But if you’re like most people, a lot of the fight to start your new habit takes place in your mind. 

If you can sweeten the start of your habit, you can win that fight. You can trick your mind into wanting to do the work it takes to form the habit. You can get out of your own way, and enjoy doing it.  

So pick a habit you’ve been wanting to start, and try sweetening every repetition. I guarantee you’ll get more reps in than you would if you simply gritted your teeth and tried to force your way through it. 

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Did this post resonate with you? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send me a message to share your thoughts. For more uplifting content, check out some other posts on my blog, follow me on instagram @morgan_barbret, or sign up for the Self Love Atlas Newsletter!

Cheers, 

Morgan Rita Barbret