Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon in the 1950s, noticed something interesting with many of his patients. Those who had facial reconstruction seemed to take about 21 days to get accustomed to seeing their new face in the mirror. The same was true for patients who had to have an amputation performed – They reported sensing their “phantom limb” for about 21 days after the surgery.
Maltz believed that this 21-day adjustment period could be translated into other parts of life. He began to test his theory on himself – How long would it take him to adjust to new habits or patterns in his own life? Well, it took about 21 days!
Maxwell concluded,
These, and many other commonly observed phenomena tend to show that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell.
His conclusion has caught on with many self-help gurus who have continued to preach the message of 21-day transformations. There’s just one little problem: Maltz concluded, “…that it requires a minimum of about 21 days…” to create a new habit. He doesn’t say that 21 days is the magic number, or that all old habits can be broken in just 3 weeks.
While Maltz’s theory wasn’t really substantiated in scientific research, it did spark a lot of interest in the subject of habit formation and behavioural change.
Many studies have since been conducted to determine exactly how long it does take to break old habits and form new ones. One of the most recognized studies was performed by Phillippa Lally, a scientist at University College London, in 2009.
Lally studied 96 participants over a 12-week period. Each participant chose a new habit that they wanted to form (e.g. exercising for a set period of time, drinking a bottle of water with their lunch, eating vegetables with their dinner, etc.) and reported each day whether they were able to do it.
The participants were also asked about how “automatic” the behavior felt each day. Was it still a conscious decision or was it becoming routine?
How long did it take for the behaviours to become habitual?
On average it took 66 days! (Far longer than Maltz’s 21-day theory)
If it takes 66 days to really form a new habit then why am I telling you that I need you for 4 weeks?
While I agree that 4 weeks might not be long enough to break all of your old habits and truly embrace a new, healthier lifestyle, I also know that 66 days is a really long time. Effective goal setting must be rooted in high achieve-ability.
If I asked you to eat only broccoli for one single day, could you do it? Yes, of course you could – It’s just one day! But what would happen if I asked you to eat just broccoli for an entire week? (Don’t worry – I won’t ask you to do that!) Chances are you wouldn’t last long, or you might not even take up the challenge.
Goals are most effective when they are relatively short and are highly-achievable. If you decide to take up the program that I lay out in this book then I ask for a 4-week commitment in return. Some of the changes you’ll be making are going to be tough at first, but you can relax a bit, knowing that it’s just for 4 weeks.
“So I just have to follow your advice for 4 weeks and then I can go back to my old habits?”
That’s not the point either. You see, if you can commit to 4 weeks of cleaner, healthier living as outlined in the following pages, then I am convinced you are going to love the way you look and feel MORE than you love your old, unhealthy habits.
Your old habits may not be broken in 4 weeks, but you will have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and I am confident that you will want to keep moving towards it.
Most clients I take through this program find it pretty challenging in the first week. The second week gets easier, and so does the third. By week #4 new habits are starting to form and most people don’t want to go back. They worked too hard and have seen too much progress to give up.
Can you give me 4 weeks? If you answered YES then I believe you will also make it to 66 days (and far beyond!)
16. Can you honestly say that you’re ready to give me 4 weeks in exchange for a life-changing experience?
17. Picture yourself 4 weeks from now – What will you look like? How will you feel? Where will you be headed in life?