Guide to develop habit | Health & Life Coach app

Just take it one day at a time, if you can stay sober for just one day, you have won the day. Alcohol is causally related to more than 60 different medical conditions [70], and contributes to a large amount of the diseases in the world. Alcohol addiction is a dangerous disease that affects many people in the population. Alcohol causes as much disability and death in the world as tobacco, which we have been told almost all of our life is bad for us [70]. Stay sober today, for a brighter tomorrow.

Forming a habit

Developing permanent healthy habits can be challenging, but the Habinator app will teach you how to create them. The research on habit change and goal achievement has given us the information on the steps to form a habit like Stay Sober Today. Integrating the behavior means repeating the daily task regularly to develop a routine that becomes easier and easier every time and every day. In the end, it will become effortless and automatic. These behavioral patterns are called daily habits.

Living a healthy lifestyle is challenging in our day and age. Getting where you want to be in life takes discipline, dedication, and learning new things. We do things to be rewarded, or as many researchers refer to it, we’re in search of positive reinforcement. To feel good mentally and physically lifestyle medicine uses behavioral change for lifestyle diseases (chronic disease, non-communicable disease) to help the body and mind to recover.

If you feel that Stay Sober Today makes you happier and healthier make it a habit. Install the habit tracker, invest a few minutes daily, and begin making progress with your new habit. Taking the first step is always the hardest, but it also makes you feel great!

About 40% of our daily activities seem to be the same, so why not make them good ones. What does your best day look like?

Here is a list of some reasons to motivate you to get started with a Stay Sober Today habit. Some include references to research in order to make sure the facts are proven by science. You can also find the research papers in the research section.

Benefits of the change

The evidence is clear. The benefits of lifestyle changes for mental well-being are paramount. The extent of our understanding about the connection between our body and mind grows all the time. We already know that healthy habits (supported with medicaments in the beginning) are the key to recovery and a more balanced life.

Stay Sober Today is one of these beneficial habits to add to your life. Here is a list of some reasons to get motivated and begin.

I feel great the next morning!
I will be in control of my life again
I improve my relationships
I save money
At the end of the day I feel peaceful and can go to bed a champion!
I look healthier and more attractive
I am not tired and I have more energy the next day

Plan and track in the app

The coaching app gives you a predefined, customizable plan to successfully form the habit of Stay Sober Today. We call each step a "Mini-Goal" (although, some might call them milestones, mini habits, micro habits, tiny habits, tasks, exercises, or just ideas). These are suggestions to give you the information you need and create a step-by-step plan.

If one of the mini-goals doesn't fit your needs, ignore it and do what works best for you. 😊

Habit development is challenging and everyone needs to find out what works best for them. We all need to learn by doing and failing.

If the chosen habit reflects your core values, you will find that change occurs more easily and naturally. Stay Sober Today might sound simple initially, but stay focused on long-term results and start small. By following the plan from the app you are able to get closer to your final goal every time you accomplish a step.

Remember, the Habinator habit tracker is just a mobile app -- a helper tool -- to guide you in reaching your goals. Even if it's the best health app... it's just an app, YOU will need to put in the hard work!

Steps as Tasks

Take responsibility
Buy new beverages
List negative effects
Make the decision
Take it day by day
Keep a diary
Make a mantra
Find a bigger meaning
Build health
Remember why I quit
Avoid risky situations

Don't worry if you don't understand all the steps. The app will coach you every step of the way.

What makes habit change difficult?

One of the theories that helps us better understand habit development is The Fogg Behavioral Model. It demonstrates what is needed to develop a lasting routine and includes why people usually fail with new habits.

You don't need to be a scientist to know that starting something new is always hard. But you also probably know that when you have to do and repeat something 20 times, it gets surprisingly easy!

The problem occurs after our initial motivation wears off. There are days when we just want to survive -- lay on the couch, feel moody, and eat too much. Sometimes we are simply too busy and forget. And typically after just one failure, we give up. Therefore, the app encourages the use of positive psychology to teach you how to deal with these adversities.

A better strategy is to be aware of these (totally normal) circumstances and have a backup plan for when they do happen. Because let’s be real, it is okay to skip sometimes. It is okay to fail once in a while. It is okay to feel bad. It is not okay to give up on yourself. The key to success is to keep doing the absolute bare minimum, which unfortunately still needs a little focus and commitment. Don't try to be perfect. Habit development is not an all or nothing thing.

There will be difficulties and times you want to give up with Stay Sober Today.

If you are aware of these challenges you can prepare and have a coping strategy ready when they arise.

Alcohol

Path to victory: Go slow

We cannot emphasize this enough -- start small and grow from there. Set the bar so low at first that you simply cannot fail. When you get started and complete the smallest possible step, you’ll be encouraged to do more.

Here is the best process:

Determine what is the bare minimum and complete that daily.
After you’ve completed the bare minimum, keep going (if you feel like it).
When you feel ready, raise the stakes (add to the minimum).

After a couple of weeks, you will have conditioned yourself to get started. Then you can set the bar higher and go out of your comfort zone.

The hard part is when the challenges arise. Your life situation changes, you lack the energy, or stress levels rise or something else happens. The question becomes: Do you have a plan ready? Are you able to repeat your routine even when something negative happens? Are you prepared?

To successfully achieve meaningful lifestyle changes one should look to the future. What do you want to achieve in the long run? One failure does not break a habit. Usually we know exactly what to do, but we don't do it. This is called a intention–behaviour gap. It happens when we don't go through with the things we want like weight loss or saving money; we know what we should do, but we don't do it. The best example of this is new year's resolutions -- a very small number of us are able to make our goals a reality and most of us quit after the first week or maybe a month.

That is the whole reason why this habit coaching app exists. It teaches how to set a goal correctly, make a plan to achieve it, and learn how to do it. During the process, you will learn a lot about yourself and your behavior.

When you lack the motivation or any other challenge arises you will have the knowledge to cope with the situation and continue repeating the habit when you are ready again.

Motivation to change

Here are some reasons to start practicing Stay Sober Today. Remember that you need to find the most important reasons for you personally that will motivate and move you daily towards your goal!

I want to be sober
I am more productive when I am sober
Tomorrow I will feel great
I want to have a clear mind and positive thoughts
Every single day it gets easier
Reduce the risk of many unhealthy behaviors and conditions
If I am sober today, I have won
Every sober day is a great victory
I want to be in control of my thoughts and actions

Making the habit stick

Bind the goal or the repeatable task to an existing habit -- another already established daily routine. It can be any task you do daily. When you have chosen a routine, decide if you are going to perform the new habit before or after your existing one. This way the new habit is repeated within the context of the old one.

Another way to integrate a new behavior into your life is to replace an old habit with a new one. It will be more challenging because you are getting completely rid of a current habit, but it will be the best for you in the long run.

Remember, there are proven strategies onhow to make a habit stick, use them to help you!

What routine would suit you?

Sleep & Recovery

Growth and Balance

Chronic diseases can be reversed and sometimes even cured. Conditions like heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and arthritis are common lifestyle diseases, but all can be avoided with the proper treatment. Know that while the healthcare industry continues to improve how they view and communicate these diseases, you can begin taking care of your body in ways it needs and deserves.

This is demonstrated in how depression, a common mental illness, is perceived by the healthcare system as well.

Stay Sober Today is just one of hundreds of habits that keep the body healthy. Maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, avoiding excessive stress and alcohol, getting enough sleep, staying physically active, and eating a healthy diet are all important factors, and all contribute to the energy levels that enable you to enjoy life. You can create a complete lifestyle medicine plan and begin developing habits that fit your needs.

Understand the big picture: a healthy lifestyle is about lasting change. Successful weight loss is not about short-term dieting and restrictive eating, although this is why why most fad diets fail.

Improved health is about better daily choices combined with long-term behavior change -- it's about your daily habits.

Design your own routines

We all have our own daily routines and changing them is a challenge. Here is the proof.

Here are a few examples that every one of us can do, but usually chose not to. All of them have a huge influence on our energy, recovery, mood, and general health.

Drink enough water
Live dynamic lifestyle
Relax

There are an infinite number of ways to integrate these behaviors into your life, you just need to find the right method that will create a sustainable habit for you.

If you get started now, you can change your habits in a few months and change the body in a year. You can find all of these habits in the app, but these are so simple you don't even need coaching to do this. I bet you have done these a thousand times.

Designing your own daily routines is the first step towards the life you want to live.

Hire a health coach

When you install the Habinator Health Coach mobile app you get an access to the Habinator behavior change platform, where you can book a health coach to help you to reach your health goals.

The coach can use the remote Coaching Platform that integrates with the mobile app that is the best combination to support the behavior change process.

A human health coach, remote coaching tool, and mobile app are the best combination to create a lifestyle change plan based on lifestyle medicine.

Popular Goals and Habits