[wpedon id=”12836″ align=”right”]Change your habit in 40 days

In the 1950s, a plastic surgeon named Maxwell Maltz discovered that it took his patients 21 days to get used to their new features after a nose job, or that it took a person who had suffered an arm or leg amputation about 21 days to get used to their new condition and stop feeling its presence.

From there came a theory that took 21 days for the mental process to adjust to the new reality.

On the other hand, we have the number 40, which in different religious writings mentions the number 40 so that a certain process generates a change. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his teachings, the prophet Muhammad received enlightenment at age 40, Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai to receive the Torah.

If we see it from a biological point of view, from the moment of gestation the first 40 days are of great transformation of the fetus, just as the 40 days after birth is when the bond between the mother and the newborn is affirmed.

People affected with a transmissible pathogen were isolated and placed in ‘quarantine’, while they were treated until they recovered.

We can continue mentioning things that in some way identify a certain period of time to generate a change, but the examples mentioned are sufficient.

From a scientific point of view, it was determined that it takes an average of 66 days to produce an effective habit change.

In previous articles we talked about why we are the way we are. The birth chart gives us a basis for our personality and is what we express at an early age which can be modified over time. This explains why siblings born in the same home and with the same parents have very different personalities. But that is the beginning, then comes the learning that comes from the environment where one grows, school, friends and so on. All this set of things were constructing our neural network which gives us the characteristic of our personality.

Nobody is born a smoker, is not in their DNA and just say that nobody in the house where they grew up was a smoker, but friends did. At some point that person is going to try cigarettes and depending on other factors he or she may or may not take it as a habit. It was something the person incorporated it.

Now, let’s say that for whatever reason, health issues, change in culture or any other condition the person must quit smoking, what can be done?

The first thing to do is to plan how the change of habit is going to be carried out. It is not easy to quit an addiction like cigarettes, alcohol, sex, drugs, food or simply procrastination. This is not easy simply because our actions are based on how we are structured in our neural network, which was structured from the beginning with our natal characteristics, in addition to everything we have learned up to this day.

It is very easy to say I am going to do this or that, but it is very different to execute it.
It’s easy to say I’m going to run the marathon, sitting in my chair looking at my cell phone, when reality says that due to my physical condition I can’t run even 100 yards.
If you really want to do it, you could start by leaving the chair and cell phone and make it a goal to walk 3 miles a day, at the pace I can (if you really want to do it, a medical check-up before starting would be recommended).
That way the 3 miles can become 5 and so on until you start jogging, until at some point you start running.
To achieve this change, you first need a plan and then execute it consistently. You can even use one of the many applications that exist as a guide and monitors one’s progress.

This change of approach will result in the modification of the neural network (our programming) and at a certain moment, which can be 40 days, or the average of 66 days, or any number of days according to the person, the change is there to stay.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, it all depends on you and if you really want to do it. The decision to do it is the first step of a small, big change. Because once you make a change and see the results, you can apply this to any area of your life. Running the marathon is just one example, but this applies to every part of your personality and life.

Stop being a prisoner of your natal chart or your programming, you can take control of your life, you just must generate the conviction of wanting to do it.

And I almost forgot, to start something new, the new Moon provides the energy of a new start.