So what if we miss a day of our habit

Habit formation isn’t a linear journey. Like every other thing in life, it can be difficult sometimes. Some days will feel very natural and easy, and some… well not so much.

Habits are behaviors you repeat constantly. You create a plan, and stick to it. But, we’re all human. It’s okay to feel unmotivated or tired sometimes.

So what happens when we skip a day of a habit? Despite what you’ve been told, the world doesn’t end! Instead of dwelling on what happened in the past,  acknowledge what happened  without  blaming or shaming yourself. It happened, and it’ll probably happen again.

What matters is how you get back up.

The majority of us go to extremes, either we’re totally in, or totally out. But that shouldn’t be the case when it comes to habits. Habit building requires consistency, but an  off  day doesn’t mean total failure. Motivation comes in waves and  sometimes we’ll feel like we’re drowning, but most of the time we’ll swim smoothly.

Here are a few things to consider as you start your habit journey:

Quality over Quantity: It’s not really  about the number of days you practice a habit, so much as it is about the level of effort you  put into  those days.

Let it Go: when an off  day inevitably comes, don’t dwell on it, and don’t force yourself to do more than you normally would  the next day to make up for it. Take that day off to recharge your batteries so that you can re-commit yourself to your habit.

Rest Days are Important: “If you don’t pick a day to rest your body will pick it for you”. It is easy to become overwhelmed when you start something new. Make sure to build in rest days, which are important for your mental health. When you keep pushing yourself past your breaking point, eventually you will burn out and quit for good.

Get Back Up: Get back on your feet. Don’t let that one day turn into two, then three. One skipped-habit-day is just enough for us to remember what we were fighting for all along. Sequence breaking will start to feel unnatural once we have performed a habit for a long enough time. We want to commit to habits that are life changing, and the only person stopping us  is the one we see in the mirror every morning.