IELTS is a language-based and life-changing exam that can sail your boat to the bigger world and unlock the door to infinite opportunities. Living in India has pros and cons, and being the most populous nation, it’s often hard to find admiration for talent. Politicians do huge vote bank politics and run useless schemes to please a certain section of society that they meticulous people feel outlawed.
So, every year, millions of Indian students take the IELTS exam to immigrate to the West. They want admiration for their hard work and talent and find it there gracefully.
However, India has many regional languages, and many students feel they are juggled in the IELTS preparation.
Many students fail to crack their IELTS exam on the first attempt, and some fail multiple tests before calling it quits. Some fail to score the required band for their desired course in a dram university or their Permanent Residency Application in Canada or Australia in IELTS General Training.
A psychologist generally believes that 21 days are needed to start seeing a habit change. Many students, whether preparing for IELTS or any other exam, work on the 21/90 days rule—and most fail to achieve it.
So why do Millions believe in a 21/90 Rule?
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. If you consistently practice a new behaviour for three weeks, it will become more ingrained in your routine.
- It takes about 90 days to make a habit permanent. After the initial 21-day period, continuing the new behaviour for another 60 days is essential. 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 2009 study challenged the popular 21/90 rule. While the theory suggests that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, Lally’s research found that it takes an average of 66 days. This means that establishing a new habit is more likely to take over two months 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, 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. When you finish the exam, you will become a new person who has changed physically and mentally. Usually, in High School or college, we don’t have the time to transform our personalities. Tensions and monotonous daily schedules never allow us to follow our plans.
Since there’s nothing much to do at home, and even the internet starts looking at boring activities, 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.
I always tell my students this during classes. When they ask me if they don’t find time to study at home or if they don’t take books home 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 beautiful Japanese proverb, “Fall seven times, get up eight.”
No matter how often you fall, always dust off your clothes and start moving forward. This is the only way to stay on the progressive path to your goals.
Alfred Pennyworth: “Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
It’s 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.
When I talk to many students, they sound like they’re taking the 21-day challenge as a joke. Most give up and blame the IELTS Exam for being tricky or for being maliciously shoved down their throats.
They forget that it is not worth doing if they are not burdensome, and the results after their Visa can be excellent 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, many 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 work on our personality development.
Our brain has neuropathway pathways produced by brain circuits through engrams(memory traces) when we shoot the same thing for at least 21 days. This means that if we do the same thing as many students, we try to form their study habits at home but soon give up, resulting in slow improvements. Their brain 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 often your old habits take you back; hold your ground. Please pay attention to your work and do it with a conscious mind. This way, you can rewrite your brain and become a new person.
I always use an analogy in my classes. When I asked if they knew about scooter riding or car driving, most answered ‘yes’. My next question reminded them of the first time they did it and how they got used to it.
During the initial learning days, they were extra conscious of casualties and never had any other thoughts; they were entirely focused on the road. They are trained and can even ride or drive while listening to their calls (not recommended at all), but I am using this to clarify my point.
List of Reasons why you need a 21-day or 66-day challenge to change your Habits
Procrastination –
Most people procrastinate and lack action. They build dream worlds without executing any actions, which stresses them out because reality doesn’t match their dream world.
I have met many students, I will say hundreds, who procrastinate studying in Canada but don’t want to work on their future. Their biggest dream is to go to Canada to study for a visa, but without any actual study. How is this possible?
Stop procrastinating, improve your habits, and train your subconscious mind to act as you desire. 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. The 21-day trial can help you find the things you are most comfortable with. For example, you can start with early sleep and early rising. The 21 days will help you reset the timings of your body, and you will find that you will not have an alarm to wake up.
We always recommend this technique 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.
You can also work on your fitness since you are on lockdown and have nowhere to go. Simple exercises like cardio, abs, planks, skipping, and stretching can help you keep up with your routine during quarantine.
If you are looking for IELTS Online Tests, you have come to the right place.
Eating Healthy –
We humans are naturally foodies, and this is 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 will not open in the coming weeks, we have no option but to eat homemade food. Still, many people eat white sugar and use too much oil in their daily diet without moving an inch from their places. This will cause too many health problems, and they might have to see a doctor in the coming weeks.
IELTS becomes easy when you focus on improving your language, and fitness helps you do this. When you work out or stretch, you automatically start developing the power of concentration.
Meditation and Yoga –
These are the best practices; our ancestors did it to live a prolonged life without inviting any bodily issues that we usually have in the contemporary era. In the fast-paced world, we don’t do it. When we wake up, we rush to reach our places (offices, schools) on time. We forget that “health is wealth,” and later, down the road, we regret never making physical and mental health our priority.
Meditation clutters our minds and cleanses them with good thoughts. Many of our students practice it to stop breeding negativity about their exams or their Study Visa aboard dreams. This is an excellent technique, and daily practice yields great results.
On the other hand, yoga is considered the best tool for keeping one’s body fit without using gym equipment. Some regard it as a way to connect with one’s inner self and consciously focus on one’s life.
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. They can be negative thoughts filled with anger, hatred, or cunning thoughts about milking people for your gains. You can work on them if you improve your habits.
Cultivate the benefits of good habits by sowing the seeds today. Plant them with dedication and daily hard work. Let them 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.