Taking action to change old habits isn’t easy, so if you’ve made some positive changes, you should feel good about what you’ve accomplished. Many people find, however, that the hardest part of developing new behaviors is sticking with them. Here are some ways you can maintain your new habits. With time, they’ll become second nature.

Pat Yourself on the Back
Only you know just how much hard work you’ve put into your new habit, so you are the best person to give yourself a pat on the back. Make rewards part of your action plan. For example, if you’ve quit smoking, treat yourself to a night out with friends for every two weeks that you remain smoke-free. If you’re trying to lose weight, celebrate each week’s weight loss by going to a movie. Eventually, you’ll notice how much easier you breathe without cigarettes. Or how much more energy you have without the extra weight. You’ll also notice that you feel better about yourself. These positive results alone can help keep you motivated to stick with your new habits.

Learn to Deal With Lapses
No one is perfect, so expecting perfect behavior from yourself can set you up to fail. The best approach is to have a plan for dealing with small lapses. If you are learning to eat in a healthier way and you go on vacation, you may find that your eating habits slip a bit. You can deal with the lapse by getting right back on track when you return. Also, think about what triggers you to slip up and plan ways to avoid your triggers.

Remain Flexible
Flexibility is key to maintaining new habits. If something in your action plan is not working, you can come up with other options. For example, you may have planned to exercise in the morning, but find it much easier to exercise on your lunch hour. By being flexible, you also allow for changes that may occur in your life. For example, if you get a new job where coworkers smoke right outside the entryway, you’ll need to come up with new strategies for dealing with the temptation you may face as you walk by.

Learning to maintain new behaviors is an essential part of the process of change. You may slip up along the way, but don’t get discouraged. Persistence will pay off in the end!

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