I have read that it takes 21 days of consistent action in order to form a new habit. I have also read that a great deal of New Year's resolutions will end in failure. Do those people know about the 21 Day Rule? It goes something like this:
1. Choose your desired new habit (or an old habit you wish to break).
2. Take note of the date, and practice the new habit (or desist from engaging in the old one) daily.
3. Continue daily for at least 21 days. If you skip a day, no matter the cause, you must start over again at Day 1. So, clearly, this could take a lot longer than three weeks.
4. You know that you've formed a new habit when you no longer have to remind yourself to do it in order to avoid starting over again at Day 1. Alternatively, you have victoriously broken an old habit when the urge to engage it no longer torments you, and you one day realize that you don't even miss it.
The intersting thing about habits is that they are typically actions taken without thought, planning, or even a conscious decision. In yoga, we work hard to break habitual action/thought/feeling patterns. I believe that the 21 Day Rule can be a very helpful tool, though, in the journey of self-actualization. It can help us build new, positive patterns which, at least for the first three weeks, we must make a concentrated effort in order to develop. This effort makes the fledgling habit a choice, and choice - freedom, actually - is one of the biggest gifts of yoga.
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