Building Lasting Habits

Many of us have one or two goals we are actively pursuing at any point in time. Maybe for you it is winning the crown at International Pageants this summer, or running a 5k for the first time, or maybe it’s getting straight A’s this upcoming school year. Whatever your goal is, I am going to give you a few helpful tips for achieving it through lasting habits. What does that have to do with anything, Kaylee? Well, I’m glad you asked.

When you begin to dissect the goals you have set for yourself they are typically comprised of smaller goals. Take winning Internationals for example. There are many components and factors that go into being crowned Miss International 2019. You must be living a healthy and active lifestyle, display yourself in a confident and poised manner during the on-stage portions of the pageant, speak eloquently and get your ideas across during the interview and the on-stage question portion, and the list goes on…

Each of these phases of competition has lasting habits attached to them as well. You want to be healthy, fit and active? Create a small habit that if you didn’t complete it that day, would just be silly...for me I chose to run. I’m nowhere close to a runner, but I started with 5 minutes a day. Just 5 minutes. That’s literally the time it takes me to listen to my favorite song one time through. That is a habit so small that it would just be silly if I didn’t complete it. Think about that as it applies to other areas of the competition. Maybe it’s building the muscle memory and lasting habit of holding your shoulders back while sitting and walking so you’ll present yourself in a poised manner when you’re on stage. Whatever your goal may be, break it down into small attainable and repeatable habits.

Here’s the key to all this- endurance. If you miss a day of running, that doesn’t mean you’ve completely fallen off the wagon and can’t get back on. Even if you missed a month of running, today is a new day. Start again and make that habit last! No one is perfect, so don’t let that be your goal from the start. Consistency is what you are aiming for- not perfection.

Build On,

Kaylee Ewing
Miss International 2018