Study of the concept - Forming New Habits for Success

Forming a new Habit / improving Self image / Alchemy of Success

The power to form a new habit in 21 days or the 21-day concept was first introduced by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, in his book titled, 'Psycho-Cybernetics':

Dr Maxwell Maltz wrote the bestseller Psycho-Cybernetics.

Originally a Plastic Surgeon, Maltz noticed that it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling phantom sensations in the amputated limb. 

From further observations he found it took 21 days to create a new habit.

Since then the '21  Day Habit Theory' has become an accepted part of self-help programs.

Brain circuits take engrams (memory traces), and produce Neuro-connections and Neuro-pathways only if they are  bombarded for 21 days in a row. 

This means that our brain does not accept new data for a change of habit unless  it is repeated each day for 21 days (without missing a day)."

He also noticed that many of his customers retained a poor self image even after having surgery which improved their appearance. 

This prompted him to work with his clients' self image prior to surgery, and he discovered that he could assist them to acquire an improved self image without surgery, using the same 21-day period to create changes in their mindset, and that surgery then became unnecessary for them.

A review of the book, by UFO6, notes:

"Particularly enlightening - and applicable to so many vital

 situations in life - is Maltz' identification of the '21 day'

 phenomenon: the fact that the human mind takes almost exactly  21 days to adjust to a major life change, universally – whether  it's a negative like a loss of a limb or a loved one, a change  of employment or residence, or positive like entering into a  new romantic relationship."

Matt Furey says he was approached by Dan Kennedy, a wildly successful speaker who laid all of his success at the feet of Dr. Maltz' Psycho-Cybernetics, and now publishes and  teaches a system called 'Zero Resistance Living', which, he asserts, includes previously unpublished works of Dr. Maltz:

"So I though[t] to myself: How much better could I do if Dr.  Maltz had put together a step-by-step daily and weekly program to follow? Something where I knew exactly what to do each and every day. No thinking. No guess work. Just follow the  instructions and voila - I'm on target.

Turns out that Dr. Maltz understood the need for such a program, which he created before he died. Dr. Maltz called the program ‘Zero Resistance Living’. 

Thing is, it was never published. Instead of being in people's hands changing their lives - it was gathering dust."

http://psycho-cybernetics.com/zrlcourse.html

Zero Resistance Living began with the work of 5 authors who published a book titled, 'Zero Resistance Selling': Dan S. Kennedy, William T. Brooks, Matt Oechsli, and Jeff Paul and Pamela Yellen, which focused on improving self image in sales people:

You can still view the Zero Resistance Living newsletters on the archives of the Psycho-Cybernetics Foundations website available at the Internet Archives site:

http://web.archive.org/web/20030412181832/psycho-cybernetics.com/newsletter/index.html

The essence of the technique is simply to devote 15 minutes a day to the formation of any habit you wish to establish, and do this faithfully for 21 days. By the fourth week, it should actually be harder not to engage in the new behaviour than it would be to continue doing it.

This applies to any type of habit, whether it is a physical

practice or a way of perceiving something, such as self image. 

In Zero Resistance Living, they talk about changing your self image in "the theatre of your mind" for 15 minutes a day, for

21 days.

It will also help to establish the habit if the behaviour, such as jogging, is performed at the same time of day every day.

Other senses can be utilized to establish the habit. For 

example, if you want to establish the habit of meditating,

you can reinforce the practice by wearing the same clothing, burning the same incense, occupying the same location, and assuming the same posture.

The more senses you can involve in the new habit, the more likely it is to become ingrained in the neural pathways, so, even if you're working on your self image in a mental construct, it's helpful to use all the faculties of your imagination to include sights, sounds, smells, and the senses of feeling and taste to strengthen the image which you come to associate with your new self image. In other words, make it seem as real as possible.

If you miss a day, just keep going until you've been

doing the new behaviour for 21 days in a row.

Information analyzed & accumulated by:

Dilpreet Singh

Dilpreet111@gmail.com