IELTS Exam is not only a language, it’s a life-changing exam that can sail their boat to the bigger worlds and unlock the door to infinite opportunities. Living in India has its pros and cons and with the most populous country, it’s often hard to find admiration for the talent.
A lot of students fail to crack their IELTS exam in the first attempt and some fail in multiple tests before calling it quits. Some fail to score their required band for their desired course in a dram university, or for their Permanent Residency Application in Canada or Australia in IELTS General Training.
it’s generally believed by a psychologist that 21 days are needed to start seeing a habit change. Many students whether doing IELTS Preparation or any other exam, work on the 21/90 days rule – and most fail to achieve it.
So why a 21/90 Rule is Believed by Millions?
The 21/90 theory is a concept popularized by Dr. Maxwell Maltz in his 1960 book, “Psycho-Cybernetics.” It suggests that:
- It takes approximately 21 days to form a new habit: This means that if you consistently practice a new behavior for three weeks, it becomes more ingrained in your routine.
- It takes about 90 days to make that habit permanent: After the initial 21-day period, it’s important to continue the new behavior for another 60 days. This helps solidify the habit and makes it less likely to revert to old patterns.
Essentially, the theory proposes that forming a new habit is a gradual process that requires consistent effort over a significant period.
HOWEVER…
Phillippa Lally’s study in 2009 challenged the popular 21/90 rule. While the theory suggests it takes 21 days to form a new habit, Lally’s research found that it takes an average of 66 days. This means it’s more likely to take over two months to establish a new habit, rather than the three weeks proposed by the 21/90 rule.
Having nothing to do much at home after going to the IELTS Institute in Ludhiana, many students, as we have seen and talked to, they just simply waste their time. It pushes their success further and they end up demotivated and with less band in the IELTS exam.
The IELTS Preparation period can be used to cultivate new habits and when you are done with the exam, you will become a new person, totally changed physically and mentally. Usually, in High School or college, we don’t have the time to transform our personalities. Many tensions and day-to-day monotonous schedules never allowed us to follow the plans.
Since there’s nothing much to do at home, and even the internet starts looking at a boring activity, we can reset our personalities and work on our lives. If people do it globally, there will be a global shift and the human greed that has almost destroyed the planet will see a new world, filled with love and compassion.
This very thing I always tell my students during classes. When they ask me if they don’t find time to study at home or if they don’t take books in their hands once they step out of the academy, I often tell them to train their subconscious mind by having a 21-day challenge.
Easier said than done.
You might fall again and again, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
There’s a very beautiful Japanese proverb, “Fall seven times, get up eight.”
No matter how many times you fall, always dust off your clothes and start moving forward. This is the only to stay on the progressive path that can lead to your goals.
Alfred Pennyworth: “Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
A beautiful dialogue by the butler of Bruce Wayne who thinks he’s no better to be the Batman and Gotham doesn’t need him anymore.
Many students, when I talk to them, sound like taking 21 days challenge a joke. Most give up and blame the IELTS Exam as being a tough thing or some malicious thing shoved in their throats.
They forget if they are not tough, it is not worth doing and the results post their Visa can be wonderful and contagious for the upcoming generations.
Remember…
The subconscious mind is defined as God. If we reprogram it, we can do wonders in life. However, a lot of things usually come our way to change our habits, and we should always keep track of why we fall. What keeps us hooked and what drags us down? This way we can learn new things about ourselves and we can work on our personality development.
Our brain has neuropathway pathways, which are produced by brain circuits through engrams(memory traces) when we shoot the same thing for at least 21 days. It means if we do the same thing as many students try to form their study habits at home but soon give up, resulting in slow improvements, their brain simply doesn’t make new habits and the results remain the same. We say, at least go for 66 days or more to make it a habit. It would be a tough battle for you but the results will be shown in the IELTS exam for good.
Never forget…
It doesn’t matter how many times your old habits take you back, hold your ground. Pay attention to your work and do it with a conscious mind, This way you re-write your brain and become a new person.
I always give an analogy in my classes. I ask if they know about scooter riding or car driving. Most answer ‘yes’. My next question reminds them of the time when they did it for the first time and how with time, they got used to it.
During the initial learning days, they were extra conscious of casualties and never had any other thoughts, but full focus on the road. Now they are trained, they can even ride or drive listening to their calls (not recommended at all.) but I am using it to make my point clear.
List of Reasons why you need a 21-day or 66-day challenge to change your Habits
Procrastination –
Most people only procrastinate and are low on action. They keep on building dream worlds without executing any acting. This stresses them out, as the reality doesn’t meet with their dream world.
I have met many students, I will say, hundreds of students who procrastinate to study in Canada but don’t want to work on their future. Their biggest dream is to go to Canada to study Visa but without any studying in reality. How is this possible?
Stop procrastinating start working on improving your habits and train your subconscious mind to act in your desired way. Your mind controls you most of the time; hence, working your mind training will always be fruitful for you, whether you want to score a 7+ band in IELTS or want to do anything else.
New Things –
Until you don’t experience new things, you can’t come to know if they are joyous or not. The 21-day trial can help you to find the things that you are most comfortable with. For example, you can start with early sleep and early rising. The 21 days will help you to reset the timings of your body and you will find you will not have an alarm to wake up.
This technique we always recommend to our students; we often tell them why waking up early is better for them and how the calmness of the morning can help them improve their listening module.
Since you are in lockdown and have nowhere to go, you can also work on your fitness. Simple exercises like cardio, abs, planks, skipping, and stretching can train you to keep up with the workout routine post the quarantine period.
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Eating Healthy –
We, humans, are naturally foodie and this is the reason why most of us have many health issues. Obesity is rising in the era of many food stalls, and restaurants have mushroomed at every nook and corner of the cities. The luring discounts and tempting food entice us to try.
Since all the food eateries are closed and they are not going to open any time soon in the coming weeks, we have no option, but to eat homemade food. Still, a lot of people eateries white sugar and using too much oil in their daily diet without moving an inch from their places. This will further invite too many health problems and they might have to see a doctor in the coming weeks.
IELTS becomes easy when you focus on your language improvement and fitness helps you in doing it. When you do a workout or stretching, you automatically start developing the power of concentration.
Meditation and Yoga –
These are the best practices and our ancestors did it to live a prolonged life without inviting any bodily issues which we usually have in the contemporary era. In the fast-paced world, we don’t do it. When we usually wake we are always in a rush to reach our places (offices, schools) on time. We forget “health is wealth” and later, down the road, we regret never making physical and mental health our priority.
Meditation clutters our mind and cleanses it with good thoughts. Many of our students practice it to stop breeding negativity about their exam or their Study Visa aboard dreams. This is a wonderful technique and daily practicing it yields great results.
Yoga, on the other hand, is considered the best tool to keep the body fit without any GYM equipment. Some regard it as connecting with their inner self and focusing on their lives consciously.
Good Habits –
A person with good habits is considered an ideal and is loved by all. This is the right time to enhance your personality. We all have three faces: one in which the world knows, the second is which our family members or close people know, and the third is which only we know.
Deep inside your heart, you know what bad habits you have. It can be negative thoughts filled with anger and hatred, or cunning thoughts to milk people for your gains. It can be any and you can work on them if you improve your habits.
Cultivate the benefits of having good habits by sowing the seeds today. Plant it with dedication and daily hard work. Let it grow and build a great future for you.
Voxcel aims to impart not only world-class IELTS coaching but also we look forward to develop the overall personality of our students.