We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
Habits are an amazing thing. It seems easy to start the bad habits. It
seems impossible to change to the good ones. I found a great list of suggestions
that I have added below. Change is hard. But in the end making changes toward a
happy, healthy, fit life is worth it.
Have a Happy Healthy day!
Habits, good or bad, make you who you are. The key is controlling them. If
you know how to change your habits, then even a small effort can create big
changes.
Here are some tips to get you started:
One Habit For 30 Days – Steve Pavlina, popularized the
30 Day
Trial. You focus on one change for thirty days. After that time it has been
sufficiently conditioned to become a habit. I’ve used this as the basis for most
of my habit changes. It definitely works to sculpt the automatic programs that
run in the background of your mind.
Use a Trigger – A trigger is a short ritual you perform
before a habit. If you wanted to wake up earlier this might mean jumping out of
bed as soon as you hear the sound of your alarm. If you wanted to stop smoking
this could be snapping your fingers every time you feel the urge for a
cigarette. A trigger helps condition a new pattern more consistently.
Replace Lost Needs – If you opened up your computer and
started removing hardware, what would happen. Chances are your computer
wouldn’t work. Similarly, you can’t just pull out habits without replacing the
needs they fulfill. Giving up television might mean you need to find a new way
to relax, socialize or get information.
One Habit at a Time – A month may seem like a long time to
focus on only one change, but I’ve found trying to change more than a few
habits at a time to be reckless. With just one habit change you can focus on
making it really stick. Multitasking between three or four often means none
become habits.
Balance Feedback – The difference between long-term change
and giving up on day 31 is the balance of feedback. If your change creates more
pain in your life than joy, it is going to be hard to stick to. Don’t go to the
gym if you hate it. Find diets, exercise, financial plans and work routines
that are fun to follow and support you.
“But” to Kill Bad Thoughts – A prominent habit-changing
therapist once told me a great way to nuke bad thinking. Anytime you feel
yourself thinking negatively about yourself, use the word “but” and point out
positive aspects. “I’m lousy at this job – but – if I keep at it I can probably
improve.”
Write it Down – Don’t leave commitments in your brain. Write
them on paper. This does two things. First, it creates clarity by defining in
specific terms what your change means. Second, it keeps you committed since it
is easy to dismiss a thought, but harder to dismiss a promise printed in front
of you.
30, 90, 365 – I’d like to say most habits go through a
series of checkpoints in terms of conditioning. The first is at thirty days.
Here it doesn’t require willpower to continue your change, but problems might
offset it. At ninety days any change should be neutral where running the habit
is no more difficult than not running it. At one year it is generally harder
not to run the habit than to continue with it. Be patient and run habits
through the three checkpoints to make them stick.
Get Leverage – Give a buddy a hundred bucks with the
condition to return it to you only when you’ve completed thirty days without
fail. Make a public commitment to everyone you know that you’re going to stick
with it. Offer yourself a reward if you make it a month. Anything to give yourself
that extra push.
Keep it Simple – Your change should involve one or two
rules, not a dozen. Exercising once per day for at least thirty minutes is
easier to follow than exercising Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays with yoga the
first day and mountain biking the third day, except when it is raining in which
case you will do… Simple rules create habits, complex rules create headaches.
Consistency is Key – The point of a habit is that it
doesn’t require thought. Variety may be the spice of life, but it doesn’t
create habits. Make sure your habit is as consistent as possible and is
repeated every day for thirty days. This will ensure a new habit is drilled in,
instead of multiple habits loosely conditioned.
Experiment – You can’t know whether a different habit will
work until you try it. Mix around with key habits until you find ones that suit
you. Don’t try to follow habits because you should, but because you’ve tested
them and they work in your life.
Post Your Change Here – Pick a change you want to work on
and post it right here in the comments. You’ll get the benefits of writing it
down and making a public commitment. The best time to start is right now.
There is no better way to break bad habits than knowing you have the
confidence to do so. Confidence is the key to a well lived life.
http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/strategies-for-breaking-bad-habits-and-cultivating-good-ones/
