學點新東西：培養一種新習慣的7個小貼士

Building new habits is one of the most challenging and most rewarding processes we’ll experience in our lives. The tips below are specifically about starting new (and hopefully healthy) habits, but you.can also adapt them to support you in breaking existing unhealthy habits.
培養新習慣是人生中最具有挑戰性、也是最有價值的過程。下面的小貼士是針對於開始培養新習慣的（希望是健康的習慣），但是你也可以用它們來幫你戒掉不健康的舊習慣。

1. Find your motivation
找到你的動機

Habits are far more likely to succeed if they are based on intrinsic motivation, rather than extrinsic motivation. The difference between the two is that intrinsic motivation is internal, while extrinsic motivation is external. For example, perhaps you want to create a new exercise habit. An intrinsic motivation for doing this might be wanting to be healthy (an internal motivation that just concerns yourself). An extrinsic motivation might be wanting to lose weight so that other people will perceive you as more attractive (an external motivation that is based on the perceptions and judgments of others).
如果習慣是基於你的內在動機而不是外在動機，那它們更有可能會成功養成。內在動機和外在動機的區別在於，內在動機是來自內部的，外在動機是來自外部的。例如，也許你想養成鍛鍊身體的習慣。內在動機可能是保持健康（內在動機只考慮自己）。外在動機可能是你想減肥，這樣其他人就會覺得你更有吸引力。（外在動機是基於他人的看法和意見。）

To give yourself the best chance of creating a sustainable habit, take a good, long look at your motives before you even start working on this new activity. You might find that your motivation is intrinsic to begin with (great!), that you need to shift your thinking slightly, or notice that this particular habit is something you’re doing for someone else, rather than for yourself.
要想養成一個新的習慣並堅持下來，在開始這項新活動前先好好想想自己的動機。你可能會發現自己的動機是內在的（太棒了！），或你需要稍微調整一下自己的思想，或注意到這個習慣是你爲別人養成的，而不是爲你自己。

Even if you realise that you’re engaging in this particular habit for someone else, that doesn’t mean you have to ditch the habit entirely, it just means that you need to think more about whether you have a personal, intrinsic motivation you can use to sustain the habit in the long term.
即使你意識到你是爲別人養成這個習慣的，這並不意味着你需要完全放棄這個習慣，這僅僅表明你需要進一步思考，看看自己是否有可以利用的個人的、內在的動機來長期地維持這一習慣。

2. Start small
從小處着手

The easiest way to sabotage a new habit is by taking the ‘all or nothing’ approach and going from 0 to 100 in the first few days. Starting small and increasing the frequency and intensity of the habit will make it far easier to sustain in the long-term than leaping right in. This is especially the case if you are starting something like a new exercise habit, where throwing yourself into a rigorous training regime before your body and mind are ready could result in injury and set you back more than it helps you.
破壞新習慣最好的方法就是採取“全部或無”的方法，在最初的幾天裏從0做到100。從小處做起，增強行爲的頻度和強度比一上來就全做會更容易養成習慣並堅持下來。尤其是當你想養成像鍛鍊身體這樣的習慣時，在你的身體和心靈做好準備前就投入嚴格的訓練會讓你受傷，那樣耽誤你的程度會多過幫助你。

Setting the bar low also reduces the likelihood that you’ll get discouraged and drop your habit because it’s ‘too challenging’ or because you’re not making the progress you’d hoped you would. Which leads onto the next tip…
把門檻設得過高可能會因爲“太具有挑戰性”了或沒有像所希望的那樣進步而受挫，甚至放棄。把門檻降得低一些會減少這種可能性。這指向了我們的下一個小貼士。

3. Be compassionate, not critical
富有同情心，而不是富有批判性

If you only pay attention to one tip in the entire post, this is it: Internal criticism is the kryptonite of building new habits and you’ll find it much easier to create a sustainable habit if you’re on your own side. That doesn’t necessarily mean getting rid of the inner critic (in my experience, that’s not a realistic goal), but being mindful of it.
如果你只想看一個小貼士，那就是這條了：內心的批評是建立新習慣的硬傷，你會發現如果你站在自己那一邊，養成新習慣並堅持下來就會容易得多。這並不是說一定要擺脫內心的批評（從我的經驗上來看，那個目標並不現實），但是要多加註意。

When we’re mindful of our inner critics, we hear what they say but we’re not controlled by what they say. Maintaining this distance can take some practise (and you might find yourself with ample opportunity to do just that while building your new habit!). At the same time as maintaining distance from your inner critic, take the opportunity to strengthen your internal ‘nurturing’ voice—the voice that tells you your best is enough and supports and encourages you on your journey.
當我們注意到自己內心的批評時，我們能聽到批評的聲音，但是我們不能受它們的控制。要想保持這種距離需要一些練習（當你在養成新習慣時，你可能發現自己有充足的機會這樣做。）在和內心批評的聲音保持距離時，找機會加強內心“培養”的聲音——這個聲音會告訴你什麼是最好的，並在旅程中支持和鼓勵你。

4. Enlist support
爭取支持

Feel free to ask trusted friends and family for any help and support they can give you while you’re building your new habit. External support is especially helpful when you’re building habits that require lifestyle changes, such as changing your diet or your exercise habits. If you are around other people who have a similar lifestyle to you, asking them to support you in making your lifestyle habit changes by, for example, not bringing sugary foods into the house, will make it easier for you to maintain a new habit.
當你在養成新習慣時，請隨時向所信任的朋友和家庭成員尋求幫助和支持。當你在養成需要改變生活方式的習慣時，如改變飲食習慣或運動習慣，外部的支持尤其有用。如果你身邊的人有和你相似的生活方式，可以通過像不要往家裏帶甜食這樣的方式來尋求他們的支持，這樣會讓你更容易養成一個新習慣。5. Be accountable
說話算數

Declaring your new habit to others is a great way of getting support from people around you, and it’s a great way of adding a healthy dose of accountability to your situation too. Being accountable might involve enlisting the help of a dedicated accountability buddy that you check in with on a regular basis, or going public with your new habit to your wider circles of friends.
向他人聲明你的新習慣，是從你身邊的人那裏得到支持的最好方式，這也是讓你能說話算數的一個很好方式。說話算數可能需要爭取找到一名人士專門定期檢查你的進展，或向更大的朋友圈子聲明你的新習慣。

6. Set a regular schedule
制定定期計劃

Making your new habit a regular part of your daily or weekly routine from the very beginning will give you a much greater chance of sustaining it over a longer period of time. Dedicating a specific block of time to your habit on the same day and hour each week will make it easier to integrate that habit into your life than just waiting until you feel like doing it.
從一開始就讓你的新習慣成爲每天或每週的固定部分會讓你更可能長時間維持這個習慣。和在那裏等待直到想做了相比，在每天或每週拿出固定的時間來養成習慣會讓你更容易把習慣變成生活的一部分。

In addition, some habits are easier to implement first thing in the morning, particularly activities like exercise, meditation or keeping a journal. Setting aside time for a new habit first thing in the morning not only makes it easier to remember but it also gives you the satisfaction of moving on with your day, knowing that that particular activity is ticked off your to-do list.
此外，有一些習慣很容易在早晨剛醒來就去做，尤其是像鍛鍊、冥想或記日記這樣的活動。把養成新習慣的時間安排在早晨不僅會更容易記住，而且當這項活動從你的待辦事項中劃去時能讓你更滿意地度過一天。

7. Have a goal in mind
在心中設定目標

Having a specific goal to work towards can help maintain your new habit and give you a challenge to work towards. If you choose to create a habit-related goal, make sure it is SMART: specific, measurable, appealing, realistic and time-based. For example, ‘start running more’ is a goal, but it’s hard to know when you’ve achieved it and what ‘more’ looks like in practical terms. Instead, setting a goal like “Run that charity 10K in September” is a SMART goal and therefore easier to work towards. It’s specific, measurable, hopefully appealing and realistic, and it’s time-based.
有具體的目標去努力，能幫你養成新習慣，並設定挑戰讓你朝目標前進。如果你選擇和習慣相關的目標，確保它是SMART：具體的、可以度量的、吸引人的、現實的和有時效性的。例如，“開始多跑一些”是目標，但是很難知道你什麼時候能達到這個目標，在實際中什麼纔算“多跑一些”。而像“九月份爲慈善事業跑一萬米”是個SMART的目標，因此朝這個目標努力就更加容易了。它是具體的、可測量的，能吸引人、現實的、並具有時效性。