The number of days it takes to form a new habit depends on the habit， on you， and on what strategies you’re using to build and maintain that habit. So how long do you really need to build a habit？ And what can you do to build a habit faster？

養(yǎng)成一個(gè)習(xí)慣所需的天數(shù)取決于什么習(xí)慣、你自己以及你用來培養(yǎng)和保持該習(xí)慣的策略。那么，養(yǎng)成一個(gè)習(xí)慣到底需要多長時(shí)間？如何才能更快地養(yǎng)成一個(gè)習(xí)慣呢？

A popular answer is 21 days—a figure that can be traced back to Dr Maxwell Maltz， a cosmetic surgeon and author of Psycho-Cybernetics. In his book Maltz reported that his patients needed a minimum of 21 days to change the mental image of how they looked.

Since then， many people have applied the “21-day” time frame to all habits. However， not all behaviors are the same and some may need more than three weeks to become automatic.

“It is easy to see why this figure appeals，” Mark Vahrmeyer， a psychotherapist and founder of Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy in England， told Live Science， “It is both concrete and makes building a new habit seem very achievable. The truth， however， is that it’s more complex and on average it takes far longer.”

一個(gè)流行的答案是21天——這個(gè)數(shù)字可以追溯到整形外科醫(yī)生、《精神控制論》一書的作者麥克斯威爾·馬爾茨博士。馬爾茨在書中寫道，他的病人至少需要21天的時(shí)間來改變他們的心理形象。

由此開始，許多人將“21天”法則應(yīng)用于所有習(xí)慣。然而，“21天”法則并不是所有行為習(xí)慣的養(yǎng)成都適用，有些可能需要三周以上的時(shí)間才能養(yǎng)成。

心理治療師、英國布萊頓和霍夫心理療法創(chuàng)始人Mark Vahrmeyer在接受《生命科學(xué)》雜志采訪時(shí)表示：“不難看出為何這一數(shù)字令人很感興趣。它既具體又讓養(yǎng)成新習(xí)慣看起來非常容易實(shí)現(xiàn)。然而，事實(shí)是養(yǎng)成一個(gè)習(xí)慣更為復(fù)雜，平均而言需要的時(shí)間更長?！?/p>

The science of habit formation

習(xí)慣養(yǎng)成的科學(xué)原理

The “habit loop” concept， popularized by journalist Charles Duhigg in his book The Power of Habit， is often used to explain the science of habit formation. According to the theory， there are three stages to automating your behavior： cue （or trigger）， routine （or behavior） and reward.

For example， a stressful situation （a cue） may lead some people to respond with overeating （the routine）， which is an activity that can temporarily bring some comfort （the reward）. When a behavior becomes sufficiently repetitive， the brain starts viewing the cue as an opportunity for the reward. The cue will prompt you to perform the same action to seek pleasure.

How long it takes to establish a habit may depend on what the cue and the intended routine is. According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology， habit formation may take anywhere between 18 and 254 days. The average amount of time needed for a behavior to become automatic is 66 days， the researchers found. The researchers noted that different actions required a different level of effort too. For example， those who had been asked to develop a habit of drinking a glass of water at breakfast tended to be more successful than participants who were instructed to do 50 sit-ups each day.

記者查爾斯·都希格在其著作《習(xí)慣的力量》中普及了“習(xí)慣循環(huán)”的概念，這一概念經(jīng)常被用來解釋習(xí)慣養(yǎng)成的科學(xué)原理。根據(jù)該理論，習(xí)慣自動(dòng)化分為三個(gè)階段：提示（或觸發(fā)）、慣例（或行為）和獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。

例如，一個(gè)讓人有壓力的環(huán)境（提示）可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致一些人暴飲暴食（慣例），而暴飲暴食是一種可以暫時(shí)帶來一些安慰（獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)）的行為方式。當(dāng)一種行為重復(fù)足夠多次時(shí)，大腦就會(huì)開始把提示視為獲得獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)的機(jī)會(huì)。提示會(huì)促使你做出同樣的動(dòng)作來尋求快感。

養(yǎng)成一個(gè)習(xí)慣需要多長時(shí)間，可能取決于提示和預(yù)期的慣例是什么。根據(jù)2009年發(fā)表在《歐洲社會(huì)心理學(xué)雜志》上的一項(xiàng)研究，習(xí)慣的養(yǎng)成可能需要18到254天。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，一種行為變成習(xí)慣所需的平均時(shí)間為66天。研究人員指出，不同的行為還需要不同程度的努力。例如，那些被要求養(yǎng)成早餐喝一杯水的習(xí)慣的參與者往往比那些被要求每天做50個(gè)仰臥起坐的參與者更容易成功。

How to build a habit faster

如何更快地養(yǎng)成一個(gè)習(xí)慣

A review， published in the journal Health Psychology， suggested that self-efficacy could also be key to developing and maintaining habits. Self-efficacy is a belief in your ability to complete a task or achieve a goal. Put simply， a person who is convinced they cannot maintain new behaviors will be less likely to keep their habit. Higher self-efficacy has been linked to improved outcomes in many different health interventions， according to a review in the journal Health Education & Behavior. Participants who exhibited this trait tended to be more successful at giving up smoking， losing weight， reducing alcohol consumption and increasing physical activity.

Vahrmeyer noted that the way a person makes a goal more attractive can also be important.

“If the process of building your habit involves nothing but self-sacrifice with no reward， you are unlikely to stick to your goals，” he said.

He advised making the process as easy as possible. For example， if the goal is to go to the gym three times per week， a person should pick a gym with a convenient location.

發(fā)表在《健康心理學(xué)》雜志上的一篇綜述指出，自我效能感也可能是培養(yǎng)和保持習(xí)慣的關(guān)鍵。自我效能感是一種相信自己有能力完成任務(wù)或?qū)崿F(xiàn)目標(biāo)的信念。簡單地說，一個(gè)人如果堅(jiān)信自己無法維持新的行為，那么他就不太可能保持自己的習(xí)慣。根據(jù)《健康教育與行為》雜志的一篇綜述，在許多不同的健康干預(yù)措施中，較高的自我效能感與改善的結(jié)果有關(guān)。表現(xiàn)出這種特質(zhì)的參與者在戒煙、減肥、減少飲酒和增加體育鍛煉方面往往更成功。

Vahrmeyer指出，如何讓自己的目標(biāo)更具吸引力也很重要。

他說：“如果養(yǎng)成習(xí)慣的過程只涉及自我犧牲而沒有回報(bào)，你就不太可能堅(jiān)持自己的目標(biāo)?！?/p>

他建議盡可能簡化這個(gè)過程。例如，如果目標(biāo)是每周去健身房三次，那么應(yīng)該選擇一個(gè)位置便利的健身房。

Word Bank

concrete /'k??kri?t/ adj. 確實(shí)的；具體的

I had no concrete evidence.

convince /k?n'v?ns/ v. 使相信；使信服

You’ll need to convince them of your enthusiasm for the job.

trait /tre?t/ n. 特性；特點(diǎn)