Did You Do It Today?

It doesn’t take 21 days to develop a new habit.

That’s misinformation that spun from a plastic surgeon’s observations.

Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon and a writer. In 1960 he published Psycho-Cybernetics, which is still regarded as a classic self-help book.

Maltz noticed with his plastic surgery patients that it took about 21 days for them to get used to seeing their new faces in the mirror. Three weeks to not be surprised by their new reflection. 

Over the years, this morphed into “it takes 21 days to make a new habit.”

It actually takes an average of 66 days to create a new habit; over two months of consistently practicing the new behavior/action/thought for it to become automatic.

The smaller the change, the more quickly it becomes a habit. The larger the change, the longer it takes (so it often takes longer than 66 days).

Whatever change you are working on, stop with the 21-day mindset.

There’s no magic number. Just a question:

Did you do it today?