--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Research suggests that it takes anywhere…" description: "\"“Research suggests that it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days21 to form a new habit, with 66 days being the average time (not 21 days, as the common kn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/martin-meadows-34710_habits_research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere_1680404.jpg" --- # Research suggests that it takes anywhere from 18 to 254… ![“Research suggests that it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days21 to form a new habit, with 66 days being the average time (not 21 days, as the common knowledge goes).” quote by Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/martin-meadows-34710_habits_research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere_1680404.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/martin-meadows-34710_habits_research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere_1680404.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/martin-meadows-34710_habits_research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere_1680404.jpg) > ““Research suggests that it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days21 to form a new habit, with 66 days being the average time (not 21 days, as the common knowledge goes).”” [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forming a new habit typically takes about 66 days, contrary to the popular 21‑day myth. **In simple terms:** Habits need ~66 days to form. Key Takeaway Give habits time. Themes habit formation myths psychology Mood practical encouraging Type self‑help educational When to use this quote - personal development - coaching - health plans Key Concepts behavior change routine building self‑improvement Questions to Reflect On - Why does habit formation vary? - How can you sustain motivation for 66 days? A Different Perspective People may expect quick results. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [“Admit it—own up to the fact you have an undesirable habit. Tell the Lord about it (He already knows; it just helps you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-fike/admit-it-own-up-to-the-fact-you-have-an-undesirable-habit-tell-the/) [Al Fike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-fike/) > [In the acquisition of a new habit, or the leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch ourselves with as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-acquisition-of-a-new-habit-or-the-leaving-off-of-an-old-one-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till-the-new-habit-is-securely/) [Frank Morton McMurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-morton-mcmurry/) > [Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till-the-new-habit-is-securely-2/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It takes 21 days to develop a habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/it-takes-21-days-to-develop-a-habit/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [“Lovers remain in each other's energy fields for 21 days after intercourse. Renewed with each act. Do the math. Choose wisely... otherwise you're carrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-weil/lovers-remain-in-each-other-s-energy-fields-for-21-days-after/) [Sharon Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-weil/) > [I was in the show for 21 days once-the 21 greatest days of my life. You know, you never handle your luggage in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-costner/i-was-in-the-show-for-21-days-once-the-21-greatest-days-of-my-life/) [Kevin Costner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-costner/) > [The first record took us, like, a year and a half to make. The second one took 21 days, including weekends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-jonas/the-first-record-took-us-like-a-year-and-a-half-to-make-the-second/) [Kevin Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-jonas/) > [“According to research, it takes three hundred instances of positive reinforcement to turn a new habit into an unconscious practice—that’s almost a year of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hardy/according-to-research-it-takes-three-hundred-instances-of-positive/) [Darren Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hardy/) > [“I know that trying to begin a new habit may be uncomfortable, inconvenient, or challenging. 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No exceptions Never suffer an exception to occur till the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-change-one-s-life-a-start-immediately-b-b-do-it-flamboyantly-c-no/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Beginning a new habit, or ending an old one can feel like letting go of a rope that swings a mile above the ground.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-perry/beginning-a-new-habit-or-ending-an-old-one-can-feel-like-letting-go/) [Philippa Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-perry/) ## More by Martin Meadows > [“Change your beliefs about failure – consider it a source of feedback, not a testament to your lack of abilities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/change-your-beliefs-about-failure-consider-it-a-source-of-feedback/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) > [“President Obama once said in an interview, “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/president-obama-once-said-in-an-interview-you-ll-see-i-wear-only-gray/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) > [“1. I never give up on anything that’s important to me. 2. I don’t care what anyone thinks about me. The only approval I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/1-i-never-give-up-on-anything-that-s-important-to-me-2-i-don-t-care/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) > [“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/hold-yourself-responsible-for-a-higher-standard-than-anybody-else/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) > [“One simple change – replacing news and mass media with books – can produce dramatic changes in your life. 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Exhibiting self-control is one of the most powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/if-you-allow-yourself-to-have-low-standards-how-are-you-supposed-to/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) > [“Discouragement has a more powerful negative impact on your behavior than the positive impact of encouragement because we pay more attention to the negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/discouragement-has-a-more-powerful-negative-impact-on-your-behavior/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) > [“reminding yourself that everything eventually passes is a powerful trick to aid you in enduring the discomfort. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/reminding-yourself-that-everything-eventually-passes-is-a-powerful/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) > [“Here are a few of my own truths that guide my behavior in life: 1. 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Worrying about bills, food or other problems, leaves less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/a-second-line-of-research-has-shown-that-economic-stress-robs-us-of/) [Martin Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) [Explore all 13 Martin Meadows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/) ## More Habit quotes > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“A lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day. By putting themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/a-lot-of-habitually-creative-people-have-preparation-rituals-linked/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“Habits form and habits grow, Then some time later, habits go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tito-rajarshi-mukhopadhyay/habits-form-and-habits-grow-then-some-time-later-habits-go/) Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay > [It is a good practice to write at least on page of mantra daily. Many people get better concentration by writing than by chanting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/it-is-a-good-practice-to-write-at-least-on-page-of-mantra-daily-many/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [I feel that between my experience and my mother's, breast cancer is a little bit like someone who lives next door. I know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-feel-that-between-my-experience-and-my-mother-s-breast-cancer-is-a/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [Working at home is hard. It tends to give you bad habits. It feels more like you're going to work when you get up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beaton/working-at-home-is-hard-it-tends-to-give-you-bad-habits-it-feels-more/) [Kate Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beaton/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [The DMK and the Communists may have the habit of lying, but I don't come from a family that lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamilisai-soundararajan/the-dmk-and-the-communists-may-have-the-habit-of-lying-but-i-don-t/) [Tamilisai Soundararajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamilisai-soundararajan/) > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [I don't analyze what I'm doing. I've read convincing interpretations of my work, and sometimes I've noticed something that I wasn't aware of, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-don-t-analyze-what-i-m-doing-i-ve-read-convincing-interpretations/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) [Browse all 4,726 Habit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Research suggests that it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days21 to form a new habit, with 66 days being the average time (not 21 days, as the common knowledge goes).”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Meadows" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere-from-18-to-254-days21-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Habit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere-from-18-to-254-days21-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/martin-meadows-34710_habits_research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere_1680404.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/martin-meadows-34710_habits_research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere_1680404.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09a/martin-meadows-34710_habits_research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere_1680404.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Research suggests that it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days21 to form a new habit, with 66 days being the…” — Martin Meadows", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martin Meadows", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-meadows/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Research suggests that it takes anywhere...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere-from-18-to-254-days21-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-meadows/research-suggests-that-it-takes-anywhere-from-18-to-254-days21-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```