Any custom, no matter how old and firm it may be can be changed with perseverance, determination. in three weeks. 

The first three days are crucial for any new endeavor or challenge, you can!

Overeating, abandoning oneself to a sedentary lifestyle, postponing tasks and projects over and over again, arguing unnecessarily ... 

Any custom, no matter how old and firm, can be changed with perseverance, determination ... in three weeks. The first three days are crucial for any new endeavor or challenge.

"First we make our habits and then our habits make us", has noted John Dryden, the prestigious poet, literary critic, and playwright of 17th century England.

In some of these studies, he adds, it is even specified that "it is essential to maintain a certain practice for twenty-one consecutive days so that the neural mind assimilates it as a fundamental part of its scheme, that is, it gets used to its effort, the habit is created", says the expert.

"With a little attention and a little dedication, negative habits can be transformed into positive ones. 

This work of psychological change makes the person have more self-confidence, improves their self-esteem, and also helps them achieve the goals they set for themselves. proposes, "says the British psychologist Vera Peiffer, an expert in techniques to overcome habits.

The psychologist explains that the habit "is a routine that associates a certain situation and an automatic response. 

Just as we always brush our teeth before going to bed, or we always call the family when we have reached the goal of a trip, the habit The problem is also reproduced, regularly and invariably, whenever a particular situation arises ".

According to Vera Peiffer, "the reason that the winners manage to confront their bad habits and other people do not, is that the former start the change, and the others do not."

"Even if you only exercise five minutes a day, the person who exercises for that short period has an advantage over the person who does not do any gymnastics. Even a small change is better than none," says Peiffer.

To take the first step in any change in habits, the expert suggests asking the question: 

"What is it that in my heart I know that I should do? The answer is there because we all know what to do when we are trapped in a routine, "he says. "Each person knows, deep down, what they must transform and also that they can do something starting from today. 

It is not about trying something, which is a fine way of doing nothing, but about doing something from now on", says Peiffer, because "the best way to prepare for the future is to attend to today".

Generally, most of the people committed to a new purpose tend to "throw in the towel" after several practice sessions, when they experience the tension and bewilderment that is always associated with the eradication of old habits by other new and unknown patterns. 

"The new habits, like a pair of sports shoes, when brand new will create chafing in the first sections of the journey. 

But if the athlete decides not to shed them at the first discomfort, and continue traveling many kilometers with them, the feet and footwear will form a unit with which it is possible to face any goal ", says Vincenzo Giglio.

According to this expert, the human being "is programmed to resist change and maintain a state of balance.

He fears change, even without knowing if it can be positive for his evolution."

A resistance called "homeostasis"

This state is known as homeostasis - the search for a stable and constant condition and the environment - and has evolved over time as a means of survival that made it easier for our ancestors to survive, in a world of constant change and potential threats.

The disadvantage of this mechanism is that it works even in cases in which a change would be advisable or positive.

"This is the reason - according to this expert - why there is resistance to adopt new habits and overcome the forces that prevent a person from entering new dimensions and experiences in life."

"Maintaining the simile of the runner, if the person maintains the commitment to walk the road throughout the first twenty-one days, the additional energy that has been dedicated to him in the hard beginnings will become a habitual act, that is, it will become a habit, which will not cost you additional energy ", maintains Giglio.

"Staying on the correct course of executing a new act, be it running, meditating, reading, walking, or changing any aspect of the lifestyle, will be from" Day 21 "an extremely easy and routine undertaking to carry out. the own inner necessity will impel us to its realization ", qualifies the expert.

"It is about assuming the 21-day Challenge, to assimilate the proposal that you deem necessary:

Whether it is to eat a new diet, stop smoking, take a walk more, read regularly, or turn off the television," says Giglio.

Once this process is fixed, and after three weeks, the person will see how the inconvenience of homeostasis will have become his own advantage. If that period of time is essential to establish a new habit, the first seventy-two hours are decisive.

"A study by the psychology department of a North American university showed that if too much time passes from when an idea is born in the mind until the first step towards the materialization of said idea, there are minimal possibilities that this idea will bear fruit", indicates Giglio.

For the specialist, therefore, if an individual decides to carry out an enlightening idea, such as writing a letter to a friend, it is important that the first concrete step is carried out during the first three days. 

"In other words, visible steps must be taken to create a reality that begins to move on its own. In this way, both universal and physical forces are accelerated to achieve the said objective", concludes Giglio.