Habits are created around what we see and so it’s important to be deliberate about what’s in our line of sight. Sometimes it’s not about changing thing’s totally, it could simply be about the little changes. These little changes can be edited along the way as improvement is created and one is not dependent on the thing that needs to change

One sure way of not eating chocolates is to not have them at home. I hardly ever buy chocolates, but then my dad always has chocolates in his fridge. In 2016 when I cut out all sweets and chocolates, I told myself I wouldn’t have any more treats when I went to visit my parents. Everyone had chocolates and my dad offered me some most times and I would always say no.

Whenever I needed a hot drink, I drank a lot of milo as I am not a fan of tea. I do not like the taste of tea. In a bid to get a milo alternative, I started trying out herbal and fruit teas. My go to was homemade ginger tea. I initially sweetened with honey and gradually got used to drinking the teas without honey. I was able to keep drinking these teas because I always had a stash, even if all I had was raw ginger, it helped.

What you see daily is determined by what you buy and where you stash things. There was still milo in my kitchen but it was out of sight and therefore it was easy to lose interest. The lack of interest did start with my decision to cut out refined sugar – mindset matters. You are only able to achieve what you set your mind on.

I also needed to drink more water, so I bought a 2.2 litre bottle and always had it on my desk at work. On hot days I will refill this at least once. Gradually, I became tired of drinking plain water, so I started popping fruits in. This made a whole lot of difference. Last year, I realised I wasn’t drinking enough water, so I downloaded a water drinking app. This helped a lot as working from home changed my patterns. My friend Bode has a lot of colourful water filled bottles around her house, so she’s reminded to drink water – the bottles are in her line of sight.

Whenever we have plantain chips at home, I hide them in the store so that it’s away from regular viewing. This helps stretch the life of the jar as plantain chips are super addictive. I love plantain chips.

Controlling what you see is a great way to create a sustainable habit. What you see is a trigger. What’s in your line of sight? Does what you see aid or discourage the positive habit you are trying to build? If yes, what changes can you make?