Hey there. We’ve all heard it before—“it takes 21 days to form a habit.” But the reality is, developing long-term habits takes much longer. If you stick to something for 21 days, you’re only just getting to the point where life is about to throw you a curveball. And that’s when you’ll find out if you’ve truly built a habit or if you were just following a temporary routine.
The real challenge isn’t fitting a new habit into your day when everything is going smoothly. It’s about figuring out how to navigate your day when things don’t go as planned. That’s why so many structured programs—whether they last 21, 30, 60, or even 90 days—often fall apart for people. If they face a challenge early on, they quit. Or if they make it to the end, they may have just been following instructions without actually learning how to adjust when life happens.
If you’re working on building better habits, especially around eating and exercise, the best thing you can do is focus on one habit at a time. I know this goes against the idea of an all-in lifestyle overhaul, but trying to change too much at once usually leads to burnout. Instead, pick one small thing and really commit to it.
And here’s the key—even when you focus on one thing, you’re still going to have days where it doesn’t go as planned. That’s not failure. That’s just life. The goal is to reflect on what happened and think about how you can adjust the next time you’re in a similar situation. This approach helps you build lasting habits that can turn into solid routines, and routines are what keep you consistent long-term.
The good news? If you stick with this process, in a matter of weeks—or in most cases, months—you’ll start to see these habits fit naturally into your daily life. It won’t feel forced. It won’t feel like something you have to think about constantly. It will just become part of who you are.
If you’re looking for support in building long-term, sustainable habits, join The YLF Experience. Let’s build habits that last!