A Mindset to Make New Habits Stick
Welcome to the Mindset for LIfe Podcast. I'm happy to share with you that there is a strategy to make new habits stick. Why is it that we start these habits, and they never last very long? Today, we talk about what it takes to make new habits stick.

And it's all about this: the idea of a fresh start. We have rituals and routines that center around new beginnings and the possibilities that come with them. It’s as if life moves in cycles, each one bringing the idea of a fresh start. We think that we have a clean slate. The chance to try again. And we are born again, with opportunities. We can renew, improve, and redefine ourselves.

Do any of these seem like new beginnings you might have have experienced?

* New Year: People celebrate the old, ring in the new with parties, resolutions, goals.
* Beginning of the school year or academic semester. New clothes, a new pair of shoes. New haircut. Pictures of children ready to go to the first day of school.
* Secular and religious holidays.
* Monday Morning.

And in a research study, new beginnings also come from personal life events. They might be developmental milestones, life transitions, first experiences, or repeated significant things like anniversaries and birthdays.

* Moving to a new town. Living somewhere new, making new friends, going to a new school, job, church congregation, grocery store, etc.
* Getting Married.
* Graduating from high school.
* Graduating from college.
* Getting that first real job.
* Getting a new career position or advancement in a job. A new title. New opportunities, responsibilities. New ways to stretch and grow.
* New baby. Full of promise and potential. There is the first time this baby looks at you. The first time this baby giggles. Or says a word. Or moves around, or even walks. We feel so much joy at the smallest achievements, smiling and laughing. We call our family and friends. We take pictures and video.
* Or… children are older, and they move out of the house, and we’re what we call “empty-nesters.” We have a new start and more space, and time to think of taking up a new hobby or adventure.
* Or could it be… Retirement? Retirement faces some people with hope and anticipation of what could be, and of new freedom, and it hits others like a sudden loss. Maybe it’s taking away the familiar and well-loved career and all of the people who go with it and bringing a new unanticipated season. Like it or not, it’s time to develop something new. Or move in a new direction for service and contribution. Or hobbies and a part time job. Or even relocating to live closer to the grown-up children.

So many opportunities, big and small, bring the idea of a fresh start.

Why do we crave new beginnings so much? And why do they hold so much promise and hope for us?
The "Fresh Start" Effect Prompts Aspirational Behavior
FIRST—New beginnings bring with them something special also known as the “fresh start effect.” Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania at the Wharton School  studied this phenomenon and noticed that new beginnings naturally increase what we call “aspirational behavior.” And that means the motivation and drive to change ourselves, to become better versions of who we are. To let go of old habits, old and outdated assumptions about ourselves, and again, try to become better versions of ourselves. This fresh start effect happens because we are interrupted. We’re able to stop thinking about the day-to-day smaller tasks to check off our lists, and things to be done,