How to Actually Stick with a New Habit: 4 Tips from Fitness Expert Eugene Pallisco

Habits are harder to solidify than you think. It always seems attainable when you first start thinking about creating a new habit. But life events, conflicting emotions, and other habits eventually get in the way. When that happens, the brain revolts against change.

How does anyone start a new habit? Fitness expert Eugene Pallisco may have cracked the code. Here are four tips to help your new habit stick for good.

1. Start Small

You can’t change everything in a day. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can start setting realistic, achievable goals.

If you never work out and suddenly decide to work out every day, your chances of success are low. While a select few outliers may have the motivation to make a sweeping change that quickly, most people should start with smaller, more incremental goals to prove to themselves that they’re capable of change.

2. Maintain Both Consistency and Persistence

Staying consistent is paramount for establishing a new habit, but persistence is an underrated quality to harness.

For those inevitable moments where you’ll falter or find it harder to show up for yourself on certain days, it’s equally important to pick up where you left off and keep going. Giving up on your goal because you miss a day or fail to perform well won’t help. Learn from the experience and keep going.

3. Keep Your Goals in Mind

Keeping your new habit at the forefront of your mind is crucial to getting it to stick.

After the first week or so, the brain will try to shift your attention away from its importance. Be strong in these moments: remember why your goal is important to you. Write down why you’re doing it and when you’re going to do it. The more specific you can be, the better.

Constantly reminding yourself of your deeper purpose for forming a new habit is an excellent way to show your brain that it needs to take the change seriously.

4. Develop a Ritual

Rituals are fantastic for priming the body to perform certain activities.

Your ritual could be as simple as putting on a specific song every time you start your workout, or it could be as involved as developing an entire pre-exercise routine that helps you feel more relaxed and focused. Whatever it is, do it religiously.

Anytime you feel resistance building up, returning to your ritual will make getting through that wall much easier.

5. New Habits, New You

Daily life is made up of small, seemingly insignificant moments. But being aware and present in those moments is the key to making lasting changes in your life.

Developing a new habit can seem hard, but only because most people go about it wrong. Remember these tips and make it a point to show yourself patience and grace, and you can change your life faster than you’d think.

Who Is Eugene Pallisco?

As a people-oriented personal trainer and fitness instructor in Dallas, Texas, Eugene Pallisco has spent most of his life studying health and fitness.

He started as a group fitness instructor and now has a private personal training business where he helps clients focus on their individual fitness goals. His extensive knowledge of topics ranging from bodybuilding to injury prevention to sport-specific training allows him to work with a diverse group of clients.