The prevailing myth is that it only takes 21 days to change a habit. But the truth is that we need much more time to create sustainable change, to rewire our brains and make a new routine automatic. And that’s why we’re challenging YOU to join us in taking on 90-day commitments, going all-in on setting goals that support your overarching intentions for 2019.

Today on the podcast, we discuss how to create meaningful change through 90-day commitments. We share some of our previous commitments, explaining how external practices (like eliminating alcohol) supported internal work (in the realm of clarity). We also explore the idea of rewiring the brain to make a new habit automatic and setting intentions that reinforce your larger, long-term goals.

We go on to set our current 90-day commitments around building a writing and meditation practice and walk you through some of the things we decided NOT to pursue—either because we’re not ready or not entirely inspired by those goals. Listen in for our best tips on pursuing the 90-day challenge and learn to create holistic commitments that support your desired feelings and enhance your life!

Themes explored in this week’s episode:

• The myth that it only takes 21 days to change a habit and the most current research on the timeline for habit formation
• How 90-day commitments can create meaningful and sustainable change in our lives
• Rewiring the brain to make a new habit automatic
• How Tegan’s 2018 90-day commitments fit in with her overarching intentions around creativity and clarity
• How Katie overcame a fear of the future by reprogramming her thinking to stay in the present
• Our current 90-day commitments around writing and meditation
• What commitments we considered but ultimately decided against because we’re either not ready or not inspired by those goals
• The significance of setting intentions that support your larger goals for the year
• Creating commitments that support your desired feelings and enhance your life

Tips for taking on 90-day commitments:

1. Don’t see it as PASS/FAIL
2. Be flexible and pivot if you don’t feel good
3. Spend time up front thinking and planning
4. Missing a single day won’t reduce your chances of forming a habit
5. Don’t judge your progress, just observe
6. Find accountability partners and check in regularly
7. Understand the triggers behind your old habits
8. Reward yourself for reaching milestones

Resources from this episode:

• Explore the research on habit formation in this 2009 study
• Learn more about Katie’s book Hidden Brilliance
• Watch the documentary What the Health
• Check out Dominican University’s research on goal-setting
• Join our 90-Day Commitments Facebook Group
• Read Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit

We would love to hear from you! Have an idea for a podcast or a question you want us to address? Interested in additional support, resources and workshops? Here are all the ways you can interact with us!

• Tweet us! @tegantrovato and @TeamAwesomeMKE
• Email us: tegan@BrightArrowCoaching.com and Katie@TeamAwesomeCoaching.com
• Follow us on Facebook @BrightArrowCoaching and @TeamAwesomeCoaching
• Follow us on Instagram @TeganTrovato and @katie_rasoul
• Connect with us on LinkedIn: Tegan Trovato and Katie Rasoul
• Download free tools and sign up for our newsletters, events and workshops by visiting: https://www.brightarrowcoaching.com/ and https://www.teamawesomecoaching.com/

Quotes from the episode:

Tegan—
“It takes a while to rewire our brains. The whole point of a habit is that it becomes automatic.”
“The goal is to spend enough time making the same decisions, over and over again, that our brain is actually rewired to support us in that.”
“Your feet hit the floor; you go straight to your meditation space. I would sit for an hour a day, and the clarity and ideas that came from that—unreal.”
“I’ve been trying to be more mindful about going into myself, taking the breaths, finding my center, acting more mindfully … [and] speaking more mindfully (which is a meditation in itself).”
“What’s the core feeling you’re going for? Do you want to feel light in your body? Do you want to feel excited, accomplished or educated? What is the core thing?”
“Be flexible in your plan. It’s not a PASS/FAIL.”
“Make your commitments VISIBLE.”

Katie—
“For 90 days, I had to be really committed to staying out of the future and that fearful place. Anytime that would come up, I would rewrite what I was telling myself in the moment to stay in the present.”
“I’m good with the [challenges] I chose because they feel like they support some of my larger goals. That’s what was really important for me was that these things, both meditating and writing, really help feed into some of my bigger goals for 2019.”
“How do we take a holistic approach in a way that feels like we are enhancing our lives versus tearing back?”
“Be really curious about what happens over this 90-day period. Think of it as [if] you are a scientist and be an observer. Do not judge how things go. It’s not good or bad. Just observe.”
“The more people you can tell about it—or you can have just one person who’s really committed to checking in with you—can be really valuable in actually getting through 90 days to have that behavior change.”