Does It Really Take 21 Days to Build a Habit?

Full script

Read the whole talk.

All slides in one place. Read it through once, then practice slide by slide.

1. 01Does It Really Take 21 Days?

   Good evening, everyone. You've probably heard that it takes twenty-one days to build a new habit. I believed that too. I tried running every morning, and after three weeks, it still felt hard. So I looked into the research.

   大家晚安。你們可能聽過，養成一個新習慣需要二十一天。我以前也這麼相信。我試著每天早上跑步，結果三個星期過去了，還是覺得很辛苦。所以我去查了相關研究。

2. 02The Study

   In 2010, researchers led by Phillippa Lally published a study on habit formation in the European Journal of Social Psychology. Ninety-six volunteers chose one healthy behavior, like drinking water with lunch or going for a run, and did it every day in the same situation for twelve weeks.

   2010年，由菲莉帕・拉莉帶領的研究團隊在《歐洲社會心理學期刊》上發表了一篇關於習慣養成的研究。九十六位志願者各自選了一個健康的行為，例如午餐時喝水或去跑步，並在相同的情境下每天執行，持續十二週。

   Source: Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle, "How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world," European Journal of Social Psychology (2010)

3. 03The Results

   The results showed huge differences. The time it took for a behavior to become automatic ranged from eighteen days to two hundred fifty-four days. A figure people often quote from the study is about sixty-six days, much longer than twenty-one.

   結果顯示差異非常大。一個行為變成自動化所需要的時間，從十八天到兩百五十四天都有。大家常引用這項研究的一個數字，大約是六十六天，比二十一天長得多。

   Source: Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle, "How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world," European Journal of Social Psychology (2010)

4. 04Why So Different?

   Why such big differences? It makes sense that simple habits, like drinking a glass of water, become automatic faster than harder ones, like exercising. And every person's life and motivation are different.

   為什麼差異這麼大？簡單的習慣，例如喝一杯水，比困難的習慣，例如運動，更快變成自動化，這很合理。而且每個人的生活和動機都不一樣。

5. 05Good News: Missing a Day Is OK

   Here's the most encouraging finding. In the study, missing one opportunity to do the behavior did not really affect the habit-building process. So if you miss one day, you haven't failed. Just continue the next day.

   這是最令人振奮的發現。在研究中，錯過一次執行的機會，並沒有真正影響習慣養成的過程。所以如果你漏掉一天，並不代表失敗。隔天繼續就好。

   Source: Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle, "How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world," European Journal of Social Psychology (2010)

6. 06What This Means for Us

   So what does this mean for us? Expect it to take weeks or even months, not exactly three weeks. Do your habit at the same time and place every day, and start very small so it's easy to repeat.

   那這對我們有什麼意義呢？要有心理準備，可能需要好幾週甚至好幾個月，而不是剛好三週。每天在同樣的時間和地點做這件事，並且從很小的事情開始，這樣才容易持續。

7. 07My Running Habit Now

   With this in mind, I restarted my running habit, but smaller: ten minutes after breakfast, every day. It took about three months before I did it without thinking. Now it feels strange not to run.

   抱著這個想法，我重新開始跑步的習慣，但規模更小：每天早餐後跑十分鐘。大約過了三個月，我才能不用想就去跑。現在不跑反而覺得怪怪的。

8. 08Conclusion

   To sum up, there's no magic number of days. Habits take different amounts of time for different people and behaviors. Be patient, keep it small, and don't give up after one bad day. Thank you.

   總結來說，並沒有神奇的天數。不同的人、不同的行為，需要的時間都不一樣。要有耐心，從小地方開始，不要因為某一天沒做到就放棄。謝謝大家。