3 steps to create habits that stick

When we think of creating a habit, we all may face times when we don't meet the goal we intended. What can we do to be more successful?

Here are 3 tips I've found help me the most.

Motivation: 1st we need to determine why we want to start the habit. What is your reason for wanting to start this habit? What is the outcome if you don't start the habit?

When we are faced with motivating ourselves to do a thing, we tend to come at it from one of 2 different directions. Each individual goal or habit may be different.
Do you phrase your goal in a going “away from” a consequence or...
Are you moving “towards” a positive outcome?

Once you determine which direction you set your goals and figure out whether you are an “away from” or “a toward” person in this context, then you can improve your goal setting. Now to be successful in reaching goals most people need both “an away from” and “toward” portion of the goal to reach it, but some will need them in a different order.
So, for example, if you tend to start off enthusiastically towards a goal in mind, but have difficulty finishing it; you are in a “toward” pattern in pursuing the goal. But you may need to add an “away from” consequence to keep the motivation going along the way. So then ask yourself, “what happens if I don’t finish and meet this goal?”
If, on the other hand, you have a hard time getting motivated to start, you may need to have an “away from” consequence at the beginning to get started towards the goal in mind. If you are in this position, ask yourself “what current circumstance will be changed for the better if I start this right now”, or” what consequence will I face coming up if I don’t start this now?”
Accountability: How much more could each of us get done if we had a whole community of cheerleaders encouraging us?
Having someone else ask if we did something or knowing that someone else expects us to do something can be a great motivator to get us to complete the task.
The other side of accountability is getting encouragement when we're struggling or having a difficult time. It can be the difference of succeeding or not, by having someone to bounce ideas off of, get encouragement from, and even just to talk through the difficulties.
Having a good accountability partner or group of like-minded people is a huge help to reaching your goals.
Practice. Practice. Practice. We all have to practice something for it to become a habit.
Start with a small step, if you miss one time or a day just keep on going. It takes multiple repetitive practices to create a habit.
Break larger goals down into smaller steps. Practice a small step, and once you have mastered that one, move on and add the next step until you reach the goal you have set.
~ Set an alarm in your phone to remind you.
~ Put it on your calendar as a to do item.
~ Stick a note to the bathroom mirror.
Whatever you need to help you remember and block out the time to do it.