Spring has sprung! Spring is a welcome sight for many and, just like the New Year, can mark the start of a new beginning. Hope often springs eternal (no pun intended) as we strive to develop new good habits and end old bad ones. Many of our habitual behaviors make life meaningful and enjoyable. Some other behaviors may put our health at risk and be an albatross around the neck when trying to accomplish our fitness or other life goals.

Even with strong motivation, making behavior changes can be very difficult. You may have heard it takes 21 days to develop a habit. This theory was first introduced by a plastic surgeon, Dr. Maxwell Maltz, who found it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling phantom sensations in an amputated limb. In a book published in the ’70s, “Psycho-Cybernetics,” he claimed it takes the human mind about 21 days to adjust to a major life change. Since then, the “21 Day Habit Theory” has become an accepted part of many self-help programs. Because the theory was based more on empirical observation rather than actual research, some researchers have questioned the validity of these findings.

Scientific, or not, I think 21 days will certainly give you a good start and help develop a pattern. If you want to set your expectations appropriately, the truth is that it will probably take you anywhere from several months to a year or more to build a new behavior into your life, not 21 days. Daily consistency transforms behaviors into habits. How long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances.

Understanding this from the beginning makes it easier to manage your expectations and commit to making small, incremental improvements. There is no need to pressure yourself into thinking that you must do it all at once. You may be setting yourself up for failure though if you think of it as a “habit.” Think more about creating a routine or a ritual. Rituals or routines are deliberate, purposeful, goal-oriented acts. Habits are normally mindless, automatic behaviors, like biting your nails.

Change can be difficult, and maintaining change is even more difficult. Too often we want to change, but our actions don’t match our desire. The trans theoretical model is used in health psychology, finding that individuals move through a series of five stages in the adoption and cessation of behaviors. If you desire to change, it’s important to know at what stage you are. Where are you?

• Pre-contemplation: Not yet acknowledging or denying that there is a problem. I can’t help anyone in this stage. Only honest self-evaluation and education of your needs will move you to the next stage.

• Contemplation: Acknowledging that there is a problem, but not yet ready to change. It might take a couple of weeks or as long as a lifetime to get through this stage. Sadly, many people will procrastinate until they die.

• Preparation: Planning to act within 30 days or less. This is the determination, information-gathering and getting-ready-to-change stage.

• Action: Doing it, changing behavior. This is the stage when action is taken. This stage may only last a brief time, or may last 6 months or longer until you hopefully move to the maintenance stage.

• Maintenance: Maintaining the behavior change. Temptation to quit may be present in the maintenance stage, but you will be able to cope with it and resist. This often proves to be the toughest stage, but the longer you stay in the maintenance stage, the more likely your new behavior will stay with you.

After the maintenance stage can be the termination/relapse stage, where you return to older behaviors and abandon the new behaviors. It is normal to backslide when making behavior changes. You may attain one stage only to fall back to a previous stage. Even in a single day you may go through numerous stages of change.

Interestingly, research found that missing one opportunity to perform a behavior did not materially affect the habit formation process. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you mess up every now and then. Building better habits is not an all-or-nothing process.

Treat failure as a learning experience, give yourself permission to make mistakes, and develop strategies for getting back on track quickly. By understanding how to build a successful habit, you can focus on building successful changes this year.

Perry Buchanan, owner of PT Gym, is certified as an Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine, and Fitness Nutrition Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Email him at [email protected]. Follow @ptgym on Twitter.