Most of life is habitual. You do the same things you did yesterday,
the day before and every day for the last month. It’s estimated that
out of every 11,000 signals we receive from our senses, our brain only
consciously processes 40.
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.
I’ve been using these techniques for years to re-engineer many
aspects of my life. That includes overhauling my diet, exercising
regularly, cutting out television, and bulking my e-mail and work
routines. Little changes that, when put on autopilot, can result in an
improved quality of life.
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.
