Popular wisdom says that it takes three weeks to make or break any kind of habit, so if you are wanting to make running a regular activity instead of an occasional guilt-fuelled punishment for when you’ve eaten too many easter eggs, try using the three-week rule to kickstart a new running regime.
Why three weeks? Habits are formed when actions repeated over and over again, causing nerve pathways to be laid down in the brain that, like well-worn footpaths, become easier for impulses to follow. And studies and anecdotes have shown that for some reason three weeks is all it takes for new pathways to be created. Smokers trying to quit have more chance of succeeding if they manage three weeks without a cigarette as their physical habits have been altered, and it is perhaps no coincidence that most diets fail within the first few days- if dieters make it past three weeks without giving in to temptation they are more likely to have changed their lifestyle for good.
To form a running habit, write down a training plan that covers three weeks worth of running and put it somewhere where you will look at it regularly. You may be starting with 30 minutes running three times a week, or trying to run a little everyday, or whatever it is that you are trying to make part of your routine. When you get to the end of that plan, you can feel great that you have cracked the three-week rule, but don’t stop there! Make another three week plan, and another one after that, and so on until it really does become second nature to schedule running into your life.
Another trick is to tell others about your three-week goals. Enlisting the support of friends or family encourages you to persevere so as not to let them down, but even just mentioning to others that you are trying three weeks of a running routine can motivate you to keep going so that you don’t feel embarassed if they ask how it’s going.
If you have a holiday planned, starting your new routine whilst you are away or immediately on your return can also help boost your habit-forming efforts as your usual routine is already altered. Consequently you are less likely to instinctively continue your old ways. You are only three weeks away from a new lifestyle!
Other Recommended Reading
- Keep Running – Motivational Tip Number 1
- Keep Running – Motivational Tip 3
- That couple that runs together – Motivational Tip 12
- Keep Running – Motivational Tip Number 2
- Run Away Those Callories! Motivational Tip 6
About the author
I am a trained medical doctor and a writer specialising in health and medicine, fitness and outdoor sports and dreaming about becoming a novelist. I have been a runner for many years and have run-explored in places around the world including Paris, Barcelona, Lausanne, Porto, California, New York and North Carolina, to name a few. I also enjoy swimming, cycling, badly attempting sailing and other watersports, and thinking about doing a triathlon (whilst sitting comfortably at home drinking copius amounts of tea).
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