It’s only human to miss a day, especially when it comes to a new behavior you might not be comfortable with yet. The good news is that research suggests that skipping a single day of a new behavior does not have any significant impact on our ability to form that habit. This single-day grace period allows us to have our inevitable off days without ruining all of our progress. However, this is where it gets tricky since skipping two days can be a slippery slope to quitting altogether.
The more you allow yourself to skip your new habit, the harder it is to return to it. This can lead to not just a failure to implement a new behavior that you were interested in but can also lead to personal disappointment. With that being said, if you slip off the wagon of your new behavior, it can serve as a great learning opportunity. It’s important to ask yourself why you skipped two days of (or maybe never returned to) a new behavior you tried to implement. Maybe your new vitamins didn’t work for you, maybe the scheduling was off at the gym, or maybe you didn’t love the products for your new skincare routine. Whatever the reason, it’s important to analyze it so you can possibly adjust and re-try the behavior. By giving yourself the ability to try again, you can learn from your mistakes and hopefully develop a new habit you’re excited about.
