Throughout life, a person constantly acquires new habits, and also gets rid of unnecessary ones. But sometimes, you just realize that you urgently need to change something in your life. So why not start now. After all, if you follow certain rules for 21 days, then we can say that you will lay the foundation for change. Now we will talk about how to change yourself and how to develop new habits in 21 days.

What is a habit?

Before you get used to doing any specific actions, you need to figure out what the word “habit” actually means.

Habit – this is a certain model of behavior of an individual (human), the implementation of which develops into a need.

Simply put, a habit is an action that a person performs automatically without thinking about it. The emotional, psychological and physical state of the body depends on its implementation.

Our habits are at the core of our character. Therefore, there is no need to look for the guilty. It's always easy to do. But changing yourself, your attitude is difficult. Change yourself and you will notice how people around you change, how situations change and new opportunities appear.

What are the habits?

At first glance, a habit is a fairly simple concept, but even it is divided into 2 types. Habits are good and bad.

• Harmful very easily acquired almost automatically.
• Useful habits require overcoming the psychological and physical barriers of a person. Without certain settings, it is difficult to turn any action into a habit.

What do habit and reflex have in common?

A well-chosen habit becomes a reflex that forces the body to rebuild itself. Such an experiment was carried out. A volunteer who liked to be different from other people decided to change his biorhythms and sleep during the day and stay awake at night. For 21 days he rested during daylight hours and worked at night. After the habit had developed, he decided one day not to sleep during the day. By evening he was sleepy and lethargic, but with the onset of night, he felt alert and active again. This proves that habits are part of reflexes. That is, under certain circumstances, the body ignores the installation and performs the usual actions.

Become happy in 21 days - a fashionable flash mob

Developing habits is not only useful, but also fashionable. A few years ago, such an intercontinental flash mob was popular. Everyone who wished could take part in it. Each participant wore a purple bracelet around their wrist, after which they were not allowed to complain about anything for 21 days. If vague thoughts still visited him, he had to remove the bracelet and put it on the other hand, after which the experiment would start over.

The purpose of this action was to teach people to be optimists and stop complaining about life. Project participants noted that the flash mob helped them to change their better side. They began to look at life differently, and the experiment allowed them to become happy in 21 days.

How the 21 day rule works

Every day, millions of people try to develop a wide variety of skills in themselves, but not everyone succeeds. Psychologists have deduced one simple rule, which, in their opinion, helps to achieve the desired goal.

If we repeat the same action every day for 21 days, it is fixed in the subconscious, and we begin to do it unconsciously, i.e. automatically. Bringing to automatism - that's our goal.

Experts in the field of psychology argue that daily work during this particular period lays in the subconscious mind the installation, thanks to which the habit is developed.

Habit transforms into need over time. How? Consider interesting example. Parents force a small child to relieve himself in a designated place. Over time, the importance of this process “reaches” his subconscious and he begins to ask for a pot. The habit of going to the children's potty, over the course of several years, develops into the need to visit the toilet.

Why it takes 21 days to form a habit

This is a completely logical question that interests everyone who has set out to instill this or that habit. I wonder why not 30 days or 35, namely 21 days? In fact, this number is scientifically based, but in order to understand why a habit is formed in 21 days, it will be interesting for you to know a few historical facts.

The first to put forward the theory of "21 days" was the plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz. In 1950, he noticed that his patients, after operations on their appearance, get used to their appearance only after 21 days. He described his hypothesis in the book "Psychocybrnetics". After the work of a doctor was lamented by society, the theory was talked about everywhere.

After 20 years, psychologists from London questioned the claim that a habit is developed in 21 days. They conducted their study, which involved 96 volunteers. It lasted 12 weeks. Each was given a task to regularly perform some specific action. After the end of the experiment, after analyzing all the results, they found out that the period of habit formation is different for each person. This is due to the individuality of each individual. Getting used to performing a certain action occurs within 18-254 days.

Another study was conducted by American scientists on astronauts. The experiment involved 20 people. Each of them was given glasses that they were not supposed to take off for 30 days. These glasses were special. The secret was in the lenses. Wearing them, the world turned upside down (in the truest sense of the word), that is, the astronauts saw an inverted image.

Scientists noticed that it was after 21 days that the brain of each of the participants in the experiment adapted. If the glasses were removed on the 10th or 19th day, then the experiment had to be restarted, because the effect disappeared. After the volunteers got used to seeing the world upside down, they were allowed to remove their glasses. After that, their brains were rebuilt again for 21 days.

Many consider the result of US scientists unreliable, because the astronauts did not take off their glasses during the entire experiment, which lasted about 300 hours. If you rely on their result, then in order to accustom yourself to daily jogging, you will have to run for 21 days, interrupted only by sleep.

Having studied the results of all the studies conducted, we can say that a habit is developed in a minimum of 21 days, a maximum of 254. This is influenced by many factors, which we will now discuss.

How to force yourself to move forward

If you decide to acquire any useful habit and doubt your willpower, try to negotiate with your "I". For example, you decide to read books before going to bed and thus develop, but you don’t know how much you will last. Think of habit formation as a 21-day experiment. This time will be enough for you to understand whether you need it at all or not.

The main thing! Just start doing. Do it once, and tomorrow just do it again. So, day after day. Stop reading, go and do it! It is also important to remember that over the years you will regret that you did not change something in your life that could have been more decisive! Think about it, root it in your head, say it out loud if you need to when it's hard to get off the couch and go do what you have planned.

And the first habit on the list is getting things done. Survive 21 days. Prove to yourself that you can do it.

In order for a habit to become a part of your life, it must bring joy, harmony and a sense of self-satisfaction. Therefore, do not be afraid to experiment and act.

Take a piece of paper and write down 10 habits that will make your life better. Then choose the one you want. Make a promise to yourself that you will perform the action regularly for 21 days. Take a calendar and circle these days. Opposite each date, put a plus if the task was completed today, or a minus if not. Such visibility will help to control the implementation of actions and make you proud of yourself.

If, at the end of the experiment, you realize that you still don’t like the habit, drop it and start the experiment with a new task.

For example, if you read non-fiction every day for 3 weeks before going to bed, and after this period you do not feel satisfied, stop torturing yourself. If you still want to expand your horizons, try reading easy-to-read books, poetry, classics, etc. By sorting through, you will definitely find your favorite works and be able to develop a habit in 21 days.

Step by Step Habit Formation

Habit formation is a rather difficult and responsible process. It consists of several stages that must be completed. Now we will tell you how to do it step by step.

1. Decision-making . To develop a habit, you need to understand that you really need it. In addition, you still have to want to get it. Desire will control your actions and help you overcome the difficult period of 21 days. For example, you decide to eat only healthy and wholesome food in order to lose weight, feel healthy and cheerful. In this case, when you want to eat sausages, your subconscious will stop you.
2. Start. If you have a goal, then take action. Do not put off such an important matter for “later”. Don't wait for a new week, month, or Have a good mood because the habit will accompany you throughout your life.
3. Repeat for the first two days . After you have started active actions, you need to hold out for the first 2 days. This is the initial distance to be overcome.
4. Repeat for a week . This is the second distance to be overcome. Every day, no matter what, do the intended action. Habit formation does not include weekends and holidays.
5. Repeat for 21 days. By doing the action during this period of time, you will realize that you are doing it automatically. That is, the process of forming a habit is already bringing the first successes.
6. Repeat 40 days . It is necessary to continue to control the development of the habit after 21 days. After all, three weeks may not be enough. It depends on the complexity of the habit, motivation and individual characteristics person.
7. Repeat for 90 days . After you have done exactly 90 days, you can say with great confidence that you will form a stable habit.

How not to break?

We are all human and we tend to have doubts. This also applies to habits. Sometimes a person, depending on his strong-willed abilities, is very difficult not to go astray. Now we will share little secrets that will not only help you develop a new habit in 21 days, but also temper your willpower.

• Think of your own reward , which you can afford if you do not wake up for free and complete everything on time.
• Use positive reinforcement : self-hypnosis, imitation of someone, in general, anything, if only it would help you not to go astray.
• Constantly motivate yourself . Without proper self-hypnosis, you will not achieve the desired result and will not understand that you really need a habit. If you find it hard to do this, seek help from family and friends who believe in you. They charge you positive emotions and return to the right path. In addition, look around you, for sure, those around you have noticed the changes that have taken place in you. Positive feedback from friends and colleagues is also a great motivator. For example, if you decide to go to the gym, then after a couple of weeks you will notice how your body is changing. This can not be overlooked by others. They will certainly speak positively about your habit, and relatives will encourage your undertaking. This is what will make you move on, not stopping there.
• Keep track of the regularity of actions . Habit formation does not tolerate even the shortest breaks. In case of failures, you will have to start all over again. Only daily work over a guarantees a positive result. It's like taking pills: if the doctor says to take them 3 times a day, for 4 weeks, then you need to do it, otherwise the disease will return, and the result of the treatment will be meaningless. To make it easier to do this, keep a diary of your successes and write down daily that the action was completed, what emotions it aroused in you, who appreciated your undertaking. At a time when you want to "give up", look through your records. They won't let you stop halfway. Blogging is trendy these days, so why not start now. A sense of responsibility to a large audience of readers will not let you go astray. And people, by the way, are very fond of such experiments and are happy to follow this.
• Put in enough effort . Easy to get used to bad habits, useful - get hard and painstaking work. Remember this and constantly work on yourself. If you feel like quitting, think about how much you have already done to make the habit a part of you. Once you understand how far you have come and how much you have endured, you will not want to stop.

Tips from successful people to help form a habit

Probably, each of us, at least once in our lives, looked at successful, rich and self-sufficient people with envy. But they have become so, thanks to the right habits. Having developed them in themselves, they were able to achieve what they wanted. Here are some secrets from successful people that will help everyone develop a habit.

1. Plan your every day . Write down all your activities that you want to complete during the day. Through some experimental research, it has been proven that 6 items on the list should be done per day. It is this amount that is realistic to perform, regardless of their volume. Don't forget the habit. By doing it at the scheduled time, you will not be able to evade its implementation.
2. Develop multiple habits at once . For example, if you decide to lead healthy lifestyle life, then go to the gym, eat right, etc.
3. Check yourself for "Weak". Simply put, challenge yourself to change yourself in 21 days. For example, standing in front of a mirror, tell your reflection “Is it weak for you not to eat food from fast foods for 21 days?”. Your subconscious will rebel, and this will allow you to hold out for the cherished 3 weeks.
4. Self-development. Always develop, strive to learn something new, broaden your horizons. The more useful information you learn, the wiser you become. And the knowledge acquired during life helps in many situations, including the process of habit formation.
5. Get regular exercise. It is useful for the physical, psychological and moral state of a person.
6. smile. No matter what, smile at everyone. If you find no reason to be happy, smile anyway. At first, you can imagine yourself as an actor who plays his part. Over time, you will realize that you really like this state, because in response people respond to you in the same way.

All recommendations work in reverse order: you can do both self-development and, for example, the development of positive habits in your children. Methodical, environmentally friendly, helpful and you can develop any skill in your children. Children who have more mindful, ingrained and regular habits are more successful both among peers and in adulthood. At the heart of habit formation is discipline. Discipline your child, but at the same time show by your own example that everything is possible and then everything will work out for him too.

Every person has a million habits. Some of them are good and some not so good. But they all directly influence the formation of our character. If you don’t like something about yourself, then the same habits will help to correct the situation again. Simple actions that you will do for 3 weeks will become a habit, and after 3 months they will transform into a need. Developing habits in 21 days is not difficult at all, the main thing is to believe in yourself and go towards your goal.

The 21 Day Mental Diet by Brian Tracy

Psychologist, family therapist, career coach. Member of the Federation of Consultant Psychologists of Russia and a member of the professional Guild of Psychotherapy and Training.

Why for 21 day habit is developed and is it right to call it a habit happy people? This is from psychology. Good habits are formed in 21 days of daily doing. During these three weeks, you accustom yourself to do something that is useful for you, but to do laziness. As a rule, in some new useful undertaking, for example, starting communication with a person with a smile, or going on a diet and losing weight, or just doing exercises in the morning - for many of us, the most difficult thing is just to force ourselves to start doing this.

Get over yourself! 21 days to form a habit

In order to get off the ground, there is a very simple and effective way, which is that for 21 days a habit is formed and then you do something useful for yourself already habitually on the machine, this is such a temporary and short 21 day experiment.

Agree, it is difficult to promise yourself, for example, never again eat sweets and cakes or do exercises in the morning for the rest of your life - usually such promises are not fulfilled and there are thousands of reasons not to do this.

Sign a contract with yourself "my new healthy habit in 21 days"

It's quite another thing if you make a promise to yourself to do a little test, to try, to do a little experiment "Introduction of my new useful skill" and say to yourself I 21 days to form a habit for example, do exercises, if after 21 days I don’t like it or it doesn’t fit, I’ll drop it and forget it, and if it fits, then maybe I’ll continue, it will be seen there. Believe me - completely different results!

Making a 21 day promise to yourself is easy, anyone can do it!

Why the experiment: because until you try it yourself, you won’t understand if I really need it, or maybe it won’t suit me for some reason (for example, exercising in the morning until you try, it’s not clear, but to try you need just this experiment 21 days to build a habit, this is the most effective way to start doing)

Within 21 days of habit formation be sure to record on a piece of paper (see picture) - you did the “plus” exercise, missed a day - put a “minus” on the sheet for yourself, a piece of paper is your material promise to yourself (your signed contract with yourself) according to your new skill, and pros and cons - it's your conscience: 0).

21 days for trial and fitting

Why exactly 21 days for a habit? It is very long and difficult to explain, I will only say that this is from psychology. During this time, a person gets used to the new, gets used to it, he sees the results - yes, it is beneficial for business, yes, it is good for health - now try to persuade him to stop doing this ...

After such an experiment, that is, after 21 days of daily doing, a person develops a skill at the level of habit and also has experience in using this skill.

If this skill after 21 days of doing is recognized as useful by a person, the person decided “yes, this skill turned out to be useful to me”, it is beneficial to the person, then we continue the temporary experiment.

Liked?
Then another 21 days!

The experiment is continued for another 21 days. If this skill is recognized as very very profitable or very very useful, then the temporary experiment can be continued immediately for a longer period (say, for 100 days or even 1 year) or perhaps for a lifetime (there is already more desire and pleasure from doing so you can feel it yourself).

Did not like?
Drop it!

If the skill showed itself so-so within 21 days of doing it, it is useless or it just didn’t suit you, as they say, “not yours” (for example, you wanted to learn how to play the guitar, 21 fingers were all in calluses, you feel, well, not your instrument, now I want a piano snow-white; 0), then the new skill is forgotten, thrown away like a plastic cup without regret.

It should be noted that it is impossible to immediately abandon what was planned. For example, they played the guitar for two days, it doesn't work, they didn't like it, they left it - this is the wrong approach. No one succeeds right away, a lot of effort is applied - the results are almost invisible at the start, this is normal, you need to make an effort, figure it out, overcome the first “failures”, in order to understand whether it is “yours” or not. 21 days for a habit helps to decide on the choice of "it's mine or not mine."

Understanding is more important than knowledge!

in 21 days a new habit: planning new useful skills

Each of us has something that we want to do, but we constantly put it off because of laziness, busyness, fear that it will not work out. Let's now make a list of your experiments with you for 21 days without complaints and reproaches, for this you only need a piece of paper and a pen.

Take a sheet of paper right now, write a list of 10 (as many as possible) new useful skills that you would like to get into your piggy bank of your skills and abilities, for example:
Do exercises in the morning
Compliment all clients
Soak in cold water in the morning
Read a book before bed
Be positive in dealing with other people
Get in shape lose weight lose weight
any useful skill you need can be turned into a new habit, determine where you need changes to improve your life

Choose from the list the skill that is easiest for you to start with

On the reverse side sheet write step by step plan- decide what exactly needs to be done and how many times or how much time, i.e. specifics do one do two do three (for example, physical education exercises in the morning: wave your arms 10 times, kick your legs 10 times, sit down 10 times, make a face 5 times, puff out your cheeks 5 times, etc. what kind of exercises do you know best in the morning)

Now, take another sheet of paper and draw 21 circles on it, this is your program for 21 days, decide on what date you will start, put this date on top of the sheet of paper and go! Done today - put in a mug "plus", not done - put in a mug "minus". This do-not-done circle sheet is your mental focus on what you are doing, it helps a lot in a new endeavor to keep your promise to do.

New useful skills and habits

So you can introduce any useful skill or good habit in my everyday life and make it a habit in 21 days. After 21 days of the experiment, you will not only KNOW that this can be useful or beneficial in principle, but you will UNDERSTAND exactly that this particular skill is definitely beneficial and definitely useful to you specifically and be able to do it well and for your own good. And since you usually want to make improvements in your life in several important areas of life at once, the wheel of life will help you plan the improvements you need, for example: health - morning exercises, finances - cost accounting, relationships - ...., and special exercises for

To rebuke a brother with anger and irritation does not mean to free him from sin, but to DRIVE yourself into Error. St. Basil the Great.

Vladyka Anthony of Surozh told how he went to a sermon at one of the liturgies and said the following thing: A woman with a child came to the service last night. She was in trousers and without a headscarf. One of you made a RUDE remark to her. She left. I don’t know who made her - such a remark, because everything needs to be done - with love and understanding, but I order - this person until the end of his days - PRAY for her and this child, so that the Lord saves them. Because, because of you, she can no longer -- NEVER come to the temple. Turned around and left. It was the whole sermon.

"With tears, I ask and pray you, be the suns that warm those around you, if not all, then the family in which the Lord has placed you." Holy Righteous Alexy Mechev.

When the sinful desire acts in you, then it is necessary to REFUSE it, another time it will act - WEAKER, and finally - it WILL completely DIE. Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov.

It is necessary to treat your neighbors - GENERALLY, without even making a kind of insult. When we turn away from a person or insult him, then it is as if a stone falls on our heart. Seraphim of Sarov.

Try your best - By repentance, good thoughts, intentions and deeds - CLEAR yourself - from EVIL: irritability, discontent, anger, rage, resentment, gloating, foul language, unforgiveness and rancor - to the people around you. For by doing so, we ACCUMULATE a dangerous POISON in ourselves, which sooner or later will KILL a person in you. Saint Nicholas of Serbia.

The soul can resist sin, but cannot - without God, conquer or eradicate evil. Macarius of Egypt.

It is not proper to praise someone else's faith. If someone praises someone else's faith, then he becomes a blasphemer of his own faith. Pre. Theodosius Pechersky

Have pity - and do not judge! If you can help a person - HELP, if you can't help - PRAY, if you don't know how to pray - THINK about the person - GOOD! And this will already be help, because bright thoughts are also weapons. Etc. Anatoly Optinsky.

Father George: Today, most people DO NOT GO TO TEMPLE, because they were NOT EXPLAINED, neither in their FAMILY, nor in SCHOOL, that a TEMPLE is a place where PEOPLE MEETING -- with GOD, THE PLACE IS HOLY. That man CANNOT live without God. People - FORGET about GOD and even DO NOT WANT - to KNOW about Him, and therefore - DO NOT OBEY God. Therefore, God - DOES NOT KEEP such - forgetful and ungrateful people, DOES NOT HELP them - because there are so MANY on earth - UNHAPPY people, BAD children, so much - grief and tears.

The Lord does not seek from us - sinlessness, but seeks from us - Repentance, with Awareness of one's sinfulness - with Self-reproach. St. Joseph Optinsky.

As Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote: “Every heresy contains blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: it either blasphemes the dogma of the Holy Spirit, or the action of the Holy Spirit, but certainly blasphemes the Holy Spirit. The essence of all heresy is blasphemy." Then he continues: "Whoever reads the Acts of the Councils with attention, he will easily be convinced that the character of the Heretics is completely satanic."

The moral values ​​- Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and other sectarians and pagans - proclaim blasphemy against Christ and persecute and kill His faithful followers. And sectarianism is - HERESY and the enemies of the Lord - our enemies!

To be afraid of shame at Confession is from Pride. Having reproved themselves before God in the presence of a witness, they receive peace and forgiveness. If a Christian does not feel the struggle, then the enemy has taken possession of him. Tikhon Zadonsky.

Whoever JUDGES sinners, destroys Repentance in himself. By repentance, a person can CHANGE God's Decision. Elder Andronicus Lukash.

One day a man asked God: - God, what would you say after learning about my fall into Sin? Get up! And next time? - Get up again! And how long can it go on - all fall and rise? - Fall and rise - as long as you are alive! I will forgive you! After all, those who fell - and did not rise - are DEAD.

Cursed is he who falls into Sin. But he is more miserable, who himself falls and the other behind him - drags him to a fall, because - WILL CARRY the weight of two falls. That is why it is said - DO NOT tempt! A sign of the resolution of sins is that a person considers himself a DEBTOR before God, and therefore STRIVES to repay his debts - to live GOODLY, to act - in a good way. St. John of the Ladder.

Listen to God in the Commandments so that He HEARS you in your prayers. When there is insensibility, one must pray out loud. A table beginning and ending with a prayer - never - WILL NEED. St. John Chrysostom.

If you see a murderer, a thief or a harlot or a drunkard, lying on the ground - do not condemn anyone, because God - RELEASED his Reason, but your Reason still HOLDS - in His hands. And if suddenly the Lord - RELEASE your Reason - you may find yourself in an even - WORSE situation. So - DO NOT JUDGE - anyone, but rather pray to God for these people - who are in trouble. Archimandrite Gabriel Ugrebadze.

Prayer and Repentance is a LIGHTNING WIRE - removing the Wrath of God from us, for our sins. Elder Paisios.

The Lord forgives everything, if you sincerely repent. But we must try so that “The sun - let it not go down in your anger” - WE SHOULD every day before the Lord - REPENT, and not only at Confession. As it draws to the usual Sin - READ the prayer first. You will correct yourself when you SEE your worthlessness, you will show humility. If you don’t correct yourself, you return to Sin again, it means you haven’t reconciled yourself yet. But in any case - DO NOT murmur.

Always remember: the Lord humbles you - with your sinful infirmities. And humility must be learned from the Mother of God. Ask Her, She will teach you. Slowly, all the roughness will be smoothed out. Only we must resort - to the help of the Mother of God artlessly, childishly. Archpriest John Mironov.

We will give an answer not only for our own sins, but for everything in which we WERE a temptation for others. St. John Chrysostom.

In hospitals - THEY DO NOT JUDGE each other - for this or that disease, but we are used to - JUDGING each other - for these or those Sins. But we are all - SICK with mental illness - Sins. One thing must be firmly known - DO NOT despair in any, even the gravest, Sinful state. Despair is the death of the soul, because it deprives a person of strength and hope for God's mercy. In the most serious sins - IT IS POSSIBLE to repent and GET - complete FORGIVENESS from God. Many desperate thieves and murderers - not only RECEIVED - FORGIVENESS, but also achieved - holiness. Hegumen Nikon Vorobyov.

It's a human thing to FALL into Sin, but a demonic thing is to STAY in Sin. In self-justification - DEATH. This is the voice of demons.

Do not say that today I will sin, and tomorrow I will repent, for we DO NOT KNOW whether we will live to see tomorrow. St. Efrem Sirin.

Wisdom of Sirakhov, if you sin (unrepentantly), then you will fall into the hands of a doctor.

Elder Ephraim of Katunak gave the following advice to the believers who came to him on how to acquire living communion with God: “Spend half an hour out of every day in prayer. Whenever you can, but better at night. Speak it, not having a rosary in your hands, propitiatory, pleading, with weeping: "Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." Work in this way, and you will see what fruit it will bring. Prayer turns from half an hour into an hour. And at this hour, be careful: either the phone will ring, or “this is what I have to do right now,” or a dream will come to you or some kind of blasphemy will sting you. Drop everything. Turn off your phone. Finish all your business and engage in prayer for half an hour, and you will see what will happen.

To make friends with Catholics is a TREASON! This is tantamount to spitting in the face - Alexander Nevsky, Minin and Pozharsky, and many martyrs who were martyred at their hands. And this means - TO FORGET, to forget past grievances, to forget - history. In one of the patericons of Athos, the Mother of God about Catholics - so she said, "They are coming - My enemies, and My Son."

Communion of the Holy Divine Mysteries, in the presence of love for Christ and observance of the Commandments, gives us special vigor and strength. Himself about. John of Kronstadt is a marvelous proof of this truth. Often he slept only - two hours a day, and, despite this, his whole day was spent in fiery activity and in unceasing divine services and prayers for the healing of the sick and the comfort of the afflicted.

St. John Chrysostom in his creation - about the upbringing of children says that the acceptance of the Body and Blood of Christ by innocent children has an amazing effect on them, especially during their illnesses. The soul of an infant from this Sacrament FEELS - calm and joy, and the body HEALS - from all kinds of diseases.

Father John of Kronstadt in his book "My Life in Christ" testifies that the partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ by pure and innocent children is the best thing - MEDICINE in their illnesses. “And how many times,” he says, “I have communed sick babies, and they always RECOVERED - from even the most hopeless ailments.”

It is a mistake to think that a patriot can simply be brought up. When at school they say that you need to die for the Motherland, and at the entrance - someone has spoiled his father - he was fired from work, and he cannot find another, then a patriot will not work. Get a dissident.

If not immediately, then after an urgent and hazing - it WILL definitely work out, because a person will - PROTEST against the cruelty and injustice of laws and orders in the state and there will be such state system-- HATE. They become patriots of their Motherland when there is something to be proud of, when the state really cares about the people, and not when they are taught to be proud.

“Beloved, when you see disasters multiplying, do not be discouraged, but be even more encouraged. God allows them to be in order to DRIVE - your Carelessness, in order to AWAKE - you from sleep. God allows disasters to multiply, not to drown us, but to make us more experienced and more clearly show His power. When disasters surround us from all sides, they FORCE us to be vigilant, and if we are attentive, then we DO NOT TOLERATE any Harm from them” (St. John Chrysostom).

“Of the disasters that have befallen us, some come upon us - for sins, others - for the correction of morality in those who are tempted, and still others - for the destruction of the hopeless” (St. Gregory the Theologian).

Modesty is one of the Highest Virtues. Take care of your Shyness, do not drown out its quiet voice. Your modesty is your Guardian Angel. It will help you keep yourself as a free and complete person. He will save - your family happiness and happy - motherhood and help raise your children - good people. Archpriest Sergius Nikolaev.

“Troubles and misfortunes rise from God, but His amazing goodness is manifested in this. God CALLS everyone to Repentance through His Word, as we read about it in many places, but when people do not turn and do Repentance, then the Lord SENDS adversity on them in order to MOVE them - to Repentance and turn them to Himself . You see the goodness of God here. God does not want our death and sends misfortunes, punishes us, but does not kill us; directs - for salvation, but does not destroy. God even threatens hell in Scripture, so that we - DO NOT GO to hell. Do you see why misfortunes are sent to us? (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).

“Disasters befall the righteous for their growth in Virtue, and sinners, incurably sick, for PUNISHMENT and torment, in order to TURN them to a pious life” (St. John Chrysostom).

“The calamities themselves are USEFUL to those who endure them with faith for the REPAYMENT of sins, for exercise, testing, for a real comprehension of the poverty of this life, for awakening - a strong spiritual thirst and a constant search for what remains forever, adoption and redemption, truly new life and bliss ”(St. Gregory Palamas).

Spiritual benefit DOES NOT come from mere gospel study. Elder Eusebius said: “No matter how much a person knows, his knowledge DOES NOT HELP, if the Grace of God DOES NOT VISIT him. A person is like a house, which, if closed, is Useless. A key is needed. WILL NOT be opened by Grace, it DOES NOT BRING -- benefit to a person. One university teacher said that, studying the creations of philosophers, he understood them. But, studying the Gospel, he understands the words, and not the deep meaning.

That is why, all Catholics, Protestants and other Sectarians are Heretics, although they read a lot of the New Testament and the Gospel - they DO NOT UNDERSTAND anything in this. And if they really - UNDERSTOOD the real MEANING of the Gospel - they would long ago have - TRANSITIONED to Orthodoxy.

Often, in order to achieve important goals in life, a person needs to acquire new habits. How to do it right?

Surely each of us at least once in a lifetime faced with the need to purchase new habit. It can be anything: getting up early, eating healthy, exercising in the morning, a variety of workouts, etc. It all depends on the goals that you set for yourself, and the methods by which you plan to achieve these goals.

And, as practice shows, it is not so easy to start a new, especially useful, habit. Here, it seemed, for three days I get up at five in the morning - and now every day will be the same. And here it is not. After a few days of “exemplary behavior”, it’s worth oversleeping one single time - and now, on you, the habit is gone.

Another well-known example for many ladies is diets. When you endure, you endure two days, three, four, and on the fifth ... at night you find yourself near the refrigerator, devouring rolls with sausages. Familiar? But I quite seriously decided: I will not eat junk food! Only vegetables and fruits! Why doesn't it work? Let's figure it out.

So, first you need to decide what is a habit? It seems to be a familiar word, but everyone interprets it in their own way.

AT general view, a habit is a certain pattern of behavior that has developed over time, the implementation of which becomes a need. This is some kind of “immutable truth” that is operating in your life at this time. And to abandon it or change it for something more suitable, as you think, is sometimes not at all easy.

It's like quitting smoking. It seems that there is nothing complicated - you woke up in the morning, and you no longer smoke. But why then do so many people fail to quit? What's stopping them? I even remembered an anecdote on this topic: “I don’t understand how people can’t quit smoking? I've quit a hundred times already!"

But at the same time, thousands of people around us are successfully “getting” new good habits for themselves. And they succeed. Perhaps they know something that we do not know? Let's try to open the curtain.

Stages of habit formation

The most important thing to always remember is that desire alone is not enough to develop a habit. Of course, it is very important to understand what you really want, but at the same time you need to work, act.

Here are the steps for developing a habit:

1. Making a decision. This is a very important stage, it is the starting point of habit formation. At this stage, a person asks himself questions: “What do I want? How can I achieve this? What habits can help me with this? ”, And, after determining the desired habit, he decides to develop it in himself.

At this stage, the main thing is not to fall into the trap of "unfounded promises" to yourself, because in this case the decision will remain just in words, without reinforcement by action.

2. One-time action. If you have made a decision, for example, to get up early, do it at least once. Get moving.

3. Repeat two days in a row. This is more difficult than getting up early once. It will take some effort on your part.

4. Repeat daily for a week. Such a task is already more difficult, especially considering social factor- There are no weekends in habit formation, so you have to get up early on both Saturday and Sunday.

5. Repeat for 21 days. This is considered the minimum time to form a habit. If it turned out not to “move out” - this is already a great reason to be proud of yourself!

6. Repeat within 40 days. During this time, according to scientists, the habit is developed and fixed by 100%, until the opposite is developed. After this period, you can already relax a little - the usual thing will turn out easily, without effort and "forcing" yourself.

And why, in fact, exactly 21 days is necessary for the formation of a habit? Why not 10, not 30, not 50? Who came up with this number?

As it turned out, this number has a scientific justification. An interesting experiment was conducted in the USA. Each member of the created experimental group (20 people participated in total) was given special glasses, the lenses of which turned the image upside down. Participants in the experiment had to wear them all the time, 24 hours a day.

After a certain time, the brains of the participants learned to flip the image itself, and began to perceive it as normal. There was an adaptation of the brain to inverted pictures. The peak of such coups fell precisely on the twenty-first day.

But as soon as people stopped wearing those glasses for at least one day, the brain returned to normal operation, and it took 21 days to flip the image again!

Thus, during the experiment, it was found that the formation of a habit occurs in 21 days. But each pass brings us back to the first day. Even if in fact he is the twentieth.

What about "breaks"?

Undoubtedly, a person who has a very strong motivation to develop a habit will find the strength in himself not to “break loose”. For example, if you need to get to work by 8 in the morning, and get at least an hour, then you will have to get up no later than 6 hours, even if you are a hopeless “owl”. But, if you really like the work, you get enough moral and material satisfaction from it, most likely you will easily develop the habit of getting up early. And no special coercion is needed.

But, if there is no very high motivation in your case, it is very easy to break loose. I overslept once, and off we went. One cake is not scary. And two, three, four ... and now there is no habit.

What can be advised in this case? The recipes are not new at all:

1. Work with motivation. If you want to form a new habit, knowing that "this is how it should be," you will not deceive your brain with such a formulation. He will answer you: “Who needs it? To me? What for? I have a good life as it is,” and he will be right.

Most people tend to do only what is necessary, what cannot be done without. Why improve something that already works?

To deal with this situation, think for yourself good motivation. Realize for yourself what this or that new habit will give you. What prospects await you in the future thanks to her? How will your life improve? How much brighter and richer will it become? You must imagine this to yourself as clearly and understandably as possible. Only in this way will you really want to achieve, firstly, your goals, and secondly, fixing the habits leading to them.

2. Follow the regularity. Even if you do something for 21 days, but at the same time skip the fifth, eighth, twelfth and twentieth, this is still not habit formation. Each pass devalues ​​the previous effort spent. You have to start again from the first day. Therefore, try to still hold out all these days without "truancy".

3. Put in enough effort. Nobody said it was easy. On the contrary, it will most likely be very difficult. Connect all your willpower, and victory will definitely be yours! After all, you realize why you need it, what it will lead to, which means that you will probably have enough strength and patience to achieve the desired results and not give up!

In general, the process of forming habits can be very exciting and interesting. The main thing is to correctly prioritize and firmly go towards your goals.

All successful people have managed at one time to put habits to their service. And in order to add more luck and prosperity to your life, you should heed the advice of the “successful people of this world”. And the recommendations are:

1. Plan. Make a plan or schedule for the day, week, month, year. Hourly daily planning helps to avoid "time holes" - wasting precious hours on unnecessary, non-constructive, leading to nothing. But for the formation of habits, plans are very useful.

2. Enter several habits at once. Wholesale is not only cheaper, but also easier. For example, get up early and exercise. Or add a contrast shower as well. All these habits will begin to be closely intertwined with each other, and by doing one thing, you will automatically begin to do the second.

3. Challenge yourself sometimes. Test yourself for stamina and endurance. Who said you can't, can't handle it? It wasn't there! Prove to yourself what you are capable of. Nothing stimulates the formation of good habits like an exciting competition, but not with someone from the outside, but with yourself! You will not notice how, in parallel with the development of a new habit, such important qualities as persistence in achieving goals, discipline, and the ability to self-control will form.

4. Strive for continuous development and self-improvement. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Learn something new, work on yourself, and these grains will bring a good harvest.

5. Periodically go on an "information diet." This means stop watching TV and aimlessly "surfing the net". Read and watch what brings you closer to your goal, helps your professional growth and development, enriches you. There is a lot of negativity in the media. Think: do you need it?

In any case, if you do not live alone in the forest, complete isolation from the world is unlikely to threaten you. If something out of the ordinary happens, you will definitely be informed about it. But the nerves will be more intact. As, however, and productive time.

6. Be sure to include physical activity in your life. Even a short exercise in the morning is not just a good habit that ensures your health. It is also a huge contribution to the energy bank, bringing daily dividends in the form of a charge of vivacity and strength necessary to perform important tasks. I'm not talking about the fact that you have to forget about drowsiness, malaise and the phrase: "I have no strength ...".

7. Smile! You have probably noticed that successful people always make a positive impression on others. First of all, it is the merit of a smile. The ability and desire to smile is a good, healthy habit. Stand in front of a mirror every morning and “hold a smile” for 3 minutes. Over time, the smile will begin to “turn on” automatically. However, this is what you need! Just 3 minutes a day will help you become successful person. Isn't that a reason to try?

All these simple tips are designed to make your life better. After all, if this does not happen, then why try, what to strive for? Good habits help to live not only longer, but also brighter, more efficient, richer. Agree, worthy pay for something to work hard?

The habits you need and a happy life!