Adventures · Cheers

50-something tests the 21-day theory – is it worth it?

Shelley

So you’re over 50, and you’re wondering if you can change when you’re suddenly told you probably should change your habits.  The experts tell you, “It’ll be worth it if you do.”

You scramble to find quick answers.  What are the (easy) modifications you can make in your life to see a big difference?  You know, those kinda things that make it worth it in the end if you change them?

The big 5 areas to focus on:

  1. Attitude
  2. Diet
  3. Exercise
  4. Alcohol
  5. Sleep

We all know it is worth it to change.  But how do we convince ourselves to make the changes to become a new and healthier you when you’re in your 50’s?

  • Do we just decide and then it happens?  Maybe.
  • Do we test it for a day, and then we’re converted forever?  Hardly.
  • Do we give it 21 days, and then we’ve changed, never to go back again?  Umm…

The jury is out on the magical 21-day philosophy…(it’s been fun to test new recipes though)

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21 days…apparently there are a lot of opinions out there on it.  It IS worth it to give yourself the I can do it attitude to solidify a change.  Look, a Google search proves it – it’s the IN thing to do.

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That should be enough right?  Just give it 21-days and BOOM, you’re a changed person.

Seriously…are you kidding me…

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I think that is a crock of sh*t.

Don’t get me wrong, if you want to change something, you should give whatever habit changing theory a try.  It’s worth it, especially if your life depends upon it.

Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work. – Booker T. Washington

But seriously folks, if you’re in your 50’s and you want to change your lifestyle, you’ve got a lot of life behind you, dragging your butt along each time you’re posed with the “try it, it’ll be worth it” life-changing promises available to us to choose from.

The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are:  Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common Sense. – Thomas A. Edison

Again, 21-days is a crock of sh*t.  A lot of sunsets have set under our belts, and we know better, right?  We know what we like or don’t like about our life so far.

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What about the 19,345 days prior to the start of a change?  (The simple math tells me…if you’re 53 years old, multiplied by 365 days = 19,345 days of getting the habit of becoming (figuring out) who you are at 53 years of age pretty well set in mud).

That’s a LOT of days of practicing something different from the proposed change you’re about to embark on for 21 days.

An ounce of practice is worth more than a tons of preaching. – Mahatma Gandhi

Divide those 19,345 days by 21 and you’ve had 921 times to try the 21-day habit changing theory out.

Whoah…I don’t know about you…but, YOWZERS…53-year-olds are miracle workers – they are the masters of testing out the habit changing theories and dammit, they can do anything they set their minds to for at least 21 days in a row.

The only way the change is worth keeping is if at the end of the 21-days, you like yourself and the results are better than you liked yourself when you started the quest for the change.

It’s not the 21-days that matters, it’s the answers to the questions –

“Was this experience worth it to me?”

And –

“Was the reason I’m doing this in the first place something that scared the hell out of me?”

A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice. – E.W. Howe

If the answers are YES, you’ll keep the new habit(s) and carry on.  If the answers are no, you’ll discard and try something else, or revert to your previous habits, or you’ll try something new.

Rinse…Spin…DryOut…Repeat…Rinse…Spin…DryOut…Repeat…   Somehow, we’ll find what is worth it to us, and we’ll become the changed person we want to be.

What do you think – is it worth it to try something for 21-days?  

Post inspiration – Linda Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Point (grab the book you’re reading, close your eyes, and point to a page and write a post about the word you pointed to.  My word was “Worth”).  Was it worth it to play along with Linda’s Prompt for the day – Heck YES!  Check out Linda’s site and all the other bloggers and their words for the day by clicking here.

PS – Happy Saturday all – as always, I adore your feedback, don’t be shy – what do you think about 21-days to change? 

 

 

 

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

33 thoughts on “50-something tests the 21-day theory – is it worth it?”

  1. I never really thought about that number…I think change often happens gradually for success. It’s an interesting theory though, except, I am in my first cup if coffee and it’s too much math. 🙄☕ 😉

    1. LOL – I agree, change is gradual and you’re absolutely right – more than one cup of coffee is necessary to do math! (Not too many though…then everything blurs……..!)

  2. Some people seem to want a guarantee, but it’s not that simple. I think after 21 days, a habit will feel more normal, and get easier, but no guarantees. I think it took longer than that for me to get used to being a non-smoker – maybe a few months, but the first week or two was the hardest. Then there’s my experience with going strict vegetarian or vegan during lent which is 40 days. I get used to being vegan and I haven’t gone back to chicken so far, still go back to seafood and cheese some time after the 40 days. I do get better every year though. And no beef or pork in 40 something years. That brings us to the question of how much to change. Changing your whole diet and lifestyle would be a lot to ask. Maybe one or two things at a time. Then there’s motivation – an ongoing project. It’s definitely worth the effort. Here’s to a healthier you, Shelley. You’re worth it!

    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, JoAnna. I like your take, “I do get better every year” and “changing your whole diet and lifestyle would be a lot to ask” – your support means so much to me, thank you. Cheers to you, your words of inspiration are definitely worth reading to me! 🙂

  3. Here’s what really counts, NOT what you eat or do AFTER 50, but what you ate/did BEFORE 50! Do people really think they can overcome the first 50 years of binge eating, drinking and no exercise in their 60s? #scienceiscrap 😂😂

    1. LOL, yes it is. Is that’s why the medicine doctors thrive…!?! The promise of a fix? There must be a happy medium, where a glass of wine doesn’t hurt us?? Do you have a post about this I can read??!!

      1. No, I don’t have a post on it, but it’s an intuitive argument. For example, once upon a time red wine was bad for you; then a glass a day correlated with lower heart disease, then it was shown to be a cause of artery problems! Everyone and his dog does one weeks research on this at University, been there done that. My grandad drank whisky and lived on beef dripping and bread for 90 years, my dad drank several pints of beer a day and smoked! But ….. both were military men in earlier times! Both lived long lives. Discuss!

        1. My head shakes every time I’m reminded about how many times the use of alcohol in our lives is good one day, bad the next. I have friends that are marathon/ironman runners and they drink. I have friends who have given it up because of the meds they are on. My doctor ran tests on my blood work because she was sure it had to be bad due to my daily consumption – she said, “Your blood work is the best I’ve ever seen for a woman your age and with that consumption.” I smiled when I left! I do think it has to do with intent – to drown sorrows might be bad, to relax and enjoy the scenery and to celebrate life, it might be good. Your turn…!

          5. A lot of science today is politicised, one only has to look at the “science” around climate change! So, imagine a piece of research is conducted about the importance of genetics versus environment in, say, education achievement. How would a Republican scientist vs. Democrat scientist interpret the SAME data?

          6. Oy…we’re in the midst of political ads right now, I can’t wait for the election to be done. I can just hear the arguments that question would cause!

  4. There’s a website called timeanddate.com. It has calculators that will tell you, among other things, the number of days between two dates. Comes in handy sometimes.

    I think with changing habits, the best approach is “one day at a time.”

  5. Well! I could go on and on about this topic, but I won’t 🙂
    The 21 day theory could work, but if we are talking about food…maybe not so much – especially considering the holidays coming up. I say…do the best you can and don’t beat yourself up about it. Any change for the better is worth doing. I appreciated Dr. B’s comment. When I cleaned out 30 plus years of files of nutrition info, professional research articles I’d collected for my job — I noticed things like: Don’t eat eggs for high cholesterol…..a few years later: 3 eggs/week is okay…..a few years later: eat all the eggs you want….And so on and so on (re: salt, butter, etc). I had a good laugh. There is so much still unknown. Whoops I think I am going on and on. :). Great post Shelley!

    1. I had a hunch you might have some thoughts on this topic! I bet you had some great records to review – and that would make my head spin, too.
      Dr. B’s comments are always thought-provoking and enjoyable to read. Thanks for the egg suggestion…I think I’ll go grab a hardboiled one – I think they’re good for us again, right? 😉

  6. This “good one day, bad the next” thing has always peeved me. Seems to me it’s just a way for someone to a) make a lot of money and b) control people. For example: eggs are bad for you, you need to use egg substitutes. They get a lot of people to do it and they make a ton of money on egg substitutes. Call me cynical, I’m ok with it. As for changing bad habits, it can be done. I don’t for one second believe it’s 21 days and done though.

    1. I’m right there with you! $$$ yeah, $$$ and control…! And, nope, 21 days it ain’t gonna be permanent, there might be lots of practice, but permanent change, Nah…! 😉

  7. I have a button I wear on my clown suit when I go to the nursing homes that gets a lot of chuckles and a bushel of truth – “Growing old ain’t for sissies” No one likes change but we all have to do it as we age. My daughter reminds me often that grumbling about not being able to do the things I use to do doesn’t help and to find other interest I can do…that is why I now blog. LOL Fortunately for me, my health is in decent shape. Waiting on surgery and test results for vision issue this week. May be getting to that “always something” stage of life which ain’t for sissies either. Good luck on finding the true direction.

    1. I bet that button does get lots of chuckles and nods! At least we all have it in common as we age, we won’t be able to do everything we used to do when we were younger. I’m thinking I should just enjoy the journey instead of wishing for the past or an easier future…!?!

  8. A great perspective on what it takes to change a habit. I think even when we have way more than 21 days under our belt sometimes we still backslide. Unless the fallout is dire old habits die hard.

    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Laura. You’ve had to adjust your running habits, and you’re still doing awesome – so I can change habits too, and still have fun. Good luck with your marathon tomorrow!!!

  9. This post strikes a chord with me. My two cents worth 1/2 a penny follow. 🙂

    There is no magic number this time though I have heard 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to create a lifestyle before now. Then there is that pesky falling off the wagon. It is all relative. We do what we do when we do it if we even want to do it that is. Motivation and stick-to-itiveness is as different as our individual personalities.

    I am trying to eat healthy and be active. That ls hard but eating junk food and being a sloth is hard too. I have to pick my hard and stick to it. Can I? Well that is the perpetual question.

  10. Pingback: I made it – J-Dubs Grin and Bear It

  11. Great post again, Shelley. I always figure that if I can do something for 21 days I should be able to continue doing it but as in the case of watching what I eat, it’s not so easy! You make a good point though, is it something that I WANT to keep doing/not doing. Is it really of benefit to me?

    1. Thank you! I’m right there with you on the food thing, especially today……… I’m craving a burger and fries!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

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