Earlier this month, I wrote an article called Coffee Resolutions. In this article I suggested that you could use your morning coffee habit to create another habit, something you may have been longing to put into your life for a long time.

I am happy to say that I have achieved success with this theory. I have been saying that I wanted to practice Tai Chi. Well, you know how it is; we talk about something but never really take the steps to get it done. I have declared this a year of action, producing the actual results instead of just talking about doing something.

Every morning at home, I get up at the crack of dawn and drink a cup of coffee. It’s a wonderful experience that I call The Coffee Hour. The house is quiet, no one but me is crazy enough to be up and it is too early for anyone to call. This is the perfect time to get things done that you generally just talk about.

I decided that this would be a perfect time to begin my Tai Chi practice. When I am finished with my coffee, I pop in a Tai Chi DVD (I have Discover Tai Chi for Beginners by Scott Cole). I can’t begin to tell you what a rewarding experience this has become and has spurred me on to doing other things as well.

The trick of making it stick is it to do it everyday. According to research it takes 21 days to make a habit. I know that if I had done this a few days and then taken a break, I’d be saying Tai what? But because immediately after coffee for 21 days I continued to do this, I am happy to say that right now, it is day 29. Also, if you miss a day, you must begin the 21 days all over again. And because I do this so early, I don’t have any excuse not to do it.

I believe that what makes the 21-day commitment work is that whenever you are starting something new, you have a few days where it feels uncomfortable. But after 21 days, you have worked out all the discomfort and it is now a part of your regular routine.

No matter when or where you have your coffee, couple it with a solid thought and action toward what it is that you want to happen. If you are in your office and breaking into a Tai Chi routine might cause your co-workers to question your sanity, you can remind yourself to pick up a DVD, search for a local class or make sure it’s on today’s schedule. If your goal is healthy eating, let your coffee trigger actions toward this end, like planning your menu for today or journaling what you’ve already eaten.

Come on now, it is not too late to resurrect those resolutions that have already fallen by the wayside. Try coupling your everyday coffee along with something you’ve been longing to do and you just might see success at last.