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The 5 Steps to Making New Habits (Advanced Program) · Spotlight English: Advanced

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  Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Bruce Galland and I'm Alice Sarah Zuri. Spotlight
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  uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand
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  no matter where in the world they live. A man wakes from bed at
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  eight in the morning. He dresses and makes his bed, He starts the
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  stove to make breakfast, and he brews coffee. All the while he is
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  not thinking about any of these actions. He is thinking about what he is
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  going to do later in the day. These actions are the man's habits.
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  There are things he does every day, or at least very regularly. He
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  performs them so often that he does not have to think about them. This
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  frees up his mind to think about other things. Habits can be very powerful.
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  They can help you learn new things. A good habit can keep you
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  healthy, or it could keep you organized. A good habit can help you
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  become more successful in life. But starting a new habit can be difficult.
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  Changing a bad habit can be even more difficult. There is good news,
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  though. There are several well established ways of making new habits. On today's
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  Spotlight, we will discuss them. We will talk about how they can help
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  your life for the better. Today's spotlight is on the five steps to making
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  a new habit. Everyone makes habits. You form habits when you repeat an
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  action again and again. Do you remember learning to tie your shoes. At
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  first, it was probably difficult. You had to think about the motion,
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  and you probably failed often. But soon the motion became easier. Your fingers
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  moved automatically. All habits are like this. They are a way of learning
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  how to act. Some habits, like learning how to tie your shoes,
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  are active. These are habits we form with intention. We learn them because
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  we want to learn them. But many habits people form are passive. These
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  are actions we make in response to the environment. These help us adapt or
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  change to fit in with things around us. Often these habits are harmless.
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  But such habits may not be the best way to deal with the situation,
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  or these cause more problems rather than resolve the situation. Most people learning new
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  habits are trying to change passive habits, or they are trying to relearn habits
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  they learned incorrectly. They hope that a new habit will make their lives better.
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  These five steps will help you, or anyone you know, do just
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  that. The first step to making a new habit is to set a goal.
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  Do you want to eat healthier? Do you want to learn a new
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  language. Understanding these goals will help you focus on what you need to change,
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  and goals will allow you to understand how a new habit might help.
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  Some people even recommend creating a detailed plan. This will allow you to track
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  where you are in your goal. The next step to making a new habit
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  is to start small. Most life changes can seem very large at first.
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  These may even seem too big. Ashley Abraham Hampson is a blogger at one
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  Medical. She wrote about forming healthy habits. One of the biggest mistakes people
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  make when trying to form a new habit is taking on too much, and
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  they try to do it too quickly. They want to exercise more, so
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  they begin to train for a very long run immediately. Big changes like this
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  to your routine can be overwhelming. These can be exhausting and difficult to continue.
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  Most changes do not come quickly all at once. Change comes with time
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  in small steps. Long distance running may be impossible for someone who has never
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  run, but that person could run a smaller race soon they may be ready
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  to try a larger goal. The third step to making a new habit is
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  to repeat it often. All new habits form through repetition. Sometimes you may
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  need to repeat the habit once per day. Some you may only need to
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  practice once a week. For others, you may need to set a special
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  time. The point is not to practice more. Instead, it is to
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  practice regularly. You do not have to meet your goals every time, but
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  if you continue, you will eventually form a habit. The next step to
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  making a new habit is to make it fun, or you could combine the
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  habit with something you already enjoy. Exercise is a good example. Many people
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  think exercise means lifting weights or running, or they think that it must be
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  unpleasant, but there are many other activities that can keep you healthy. Do
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  you like long walks in the woods? Do you like dancing? These are
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  exercise. They may not be the most efficient exercises, but if you enjoy
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  them, you are more likely to practice them often. Finally, your new
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  habits should be part of your routine. Most people do things in the same
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  way every day. They go to the same places, they speak to the
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  same people. A habit should fit with these repeated activities. A person learning
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  a new language does not need to change their entire life. Instead, they
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  should find a time within their day to practice. Do you have extra time
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  after work? What about before? Fitting habits in these spaces makes them easier
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  to continue. You only need to change one aspect of your life to fit
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  this new habit. Changing to make new habits is difficult. Sometimes it can
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  feel impossible, but following these tips will give you a good start. Creating
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  habits can give you control over some parts of your life life. It can
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  help you learn or grow as a person, and new habit may be the
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  way to success in your life. Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian peace activist and
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  spiritual leader. He often wrote about forming good habits. He once said,
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  carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Manage your words,
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  for they will become your behavior. Consider and judge your behaviors, for they
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  have become your habits. Recognize and watch your habits, for they will become
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  your values. Understand your values, for they become your future. Do you
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  have a habit you want to form? What is it? How will you
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  make the habit happen? You can leave a comment on our website or email
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  us at Radio at Radio dot net. You can also comment on Facebook at
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  Facebook dot com slash Spotlight Radio. The writer of this program was Dan Christman.
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  The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United
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  Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced
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  by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again and read it on the
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  internet at www dot Radio English dot net. This program is called the Five
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  Steps to Making New Habits. You can also get our programs delivered directly to
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  your Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app. We hope
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  you can join us again for the next Spatlight program. Goodbye,