Building Habits

Feb 22, 2022 | Dona Locke | @DrDonaLocke

In the HABIT program and in this blog, we focus on research on behaviors that can help you live well with Mild Cognitive Impairment. The next challenge is HOW to take that information and create a new habit. We've offered some suggestions such as this post for how to start a new habit and keep it up as well as this post suggesting ways to return to a good habit if you've fallen away from it. But the reality is that building habits and changing behavior is HARD. So, as many ways as we can give you tools or ideas for how to build habits the better!

So, I want to draw your attention to a post from the Health and Mindfulness page. You may have seen it highlighted if you follow other pages on Mayo Clinic Connect, but it is really another great way to think about building new routines! Maria Benzo (@mvbenzo) wrote this lovely post, "Find your MAP to your Habits". The mnemonic MAP= Motivation, Ability, Prompt is another way to think about a process for building a new habit. I encourage you to read the piece to learn more! I look forward to hearing your reactions and your thoughts if you give it a try!