Into the fireplace went my 2016 calendar with all its inked-in appointments and reminders. The new year is the perfect time to start all over with a new and clean agenda. For myself, and many other people, the first day of the year is a starting point for a new, better, healthier and happier life. We want to be slimmer, fitter, more active and positive. We are ready to fight our bad habits.

This is the time when many of us make our new year’s resolutions. We promise our self that this year we will change and improve.

Twelve days have passed since the new year and I would like to ask you if you were able to keep your resolutions. Is it too soon to ask?

Harsh statistics reveal that 70 per cent of people fulfil their new year’s resolutions for only two weeks.

As you probably already know, it is incredibly difficult and arduous to change and eliminate deeply ingrained habits of many years. Roman philosopher Cicero said the famous phrase: “The habit is second nature.”

Is it true?

To sustain change you need to learn more about the structure of habits; to understand them from the inside.

What causes them in the first place?

Why are you doing some things over and over again even if you know it is bad for you and your health?

In the New York Times bestseller The Power of Habit: Why We Do, What We Do in Life and Business, author Charles Duhigg explains in an easy and entertaining way, everything you need to know about habits and how to change them.

Each habit has a three-step loop.

The habit loop starts with a cue that triggers you to do the habit.

It could be a specific time of day, a location, other people, an emotional state or an immediately preceding action.

The cue precedes a routine of behaviour. Finally, there is a reward. The reward can be something tangible such as chocolate, ice cream, a cigarette, coffee or a beer.

Or it can be something intangible, like watching television or browsing social media.

The reward is the reason the brain decides the previous steps are worth remembering for the future.

The repetition of the loop builds up an anticipation or craving for the reward.

Lets see how it works in real life. One of my clients, Anna, drank a glass of wine to relax every evening after work.

After drinking she felt no energy, sleepy and lazy. Anna has no desire to go to the gym or run. Her firm decision for this coming year was to eradicate this habit. But how? Where to begin?

Old habit

Cue: time of day

Routine: pouring the glass of wine

Reward: de-stress and relax

Instead of trying to eradicate this habit, get a new routine and reward.

Anna decided on tea. But not regular, boring tea bags. She found exotic teas from different continents: Darjeeling, oolong, white tea, jasmine …

She even brought home different varieties of teas from her far away trips.

She substituted the ritual of opening a bottle of wine and pouring a glass, for the ceremony of making fine tea.

She lit candles, and put on her favourite music.

She brewed tea with orchids in a Chinese cast-iron teapot, then poured it into a delicate, enamelled tea cup.

She closed her eyes and breathed in the magical aroma of the tea.

She tasted a sip and felt ... happy. And later, she was full of energy.

New habit

Cue: time of day

Routine: tea ceremony

Reward: de-stress, relax and find new energy!

So, to change your bad habit or routine, substitution is the key.

Whatever your routine and reward may be, replace them with something else.

Once you understand how a habit operates, you gain power over it!

•Nina London is a certified wellness and weight-management coach. Her mission is to support and inspire mature women to make positive changes in their body and mind. Share your inspirational stories with her here: www.ninalondon.com