Change a habit
There are three major obstacles that get in our way of making any kind positive behavior change:
- We need to repeat a behavior many times for it to become a habit.
- Our willpower is a limited resource, so any behavior change based on willpower alone is destined to fail.
- Every instance of a new behavior requires “activation energy” – an extra mental and physical effort that you need to overcome inertia and start a new positive habit.
So any time we want to break an old habit and replace it with a new one, we need to make it as easy as possible to do the new thing, and as hard as possible to do the old thing. Or better yet, place the new behavior in the way of the old one. Want to read more books and watch less TV? Hide your remote and put a book on your coffee table instead of it. Want to eat healthier? Replace all unhealthy items with healthy ones in your fridge. Want to practice yoga in the morning? Roll out your yoga mat right by your bed so that you have to step on it when you get up (here is an entire blog post on how to develop a new habit of home yoga practice). This week let’s identify one old habit that you would like to replace with a better one and come up with ways to make the new behavior easier than the old one.
HOW-TO: Identify a habit that is not serving you well right now. It can be a habit in any area of your life (health, wellness, work, relationships, fun). What would you like to replace it with? What concrete steps can you take to make the old behavior harder and new behavior easier to do? Take those steps to set yourself up for success and engage in the new behavior for a week. The more you flex your “habit-changing muscle” the easier it will be for you to feel powerful and in charge of your circumstances. And please let us know how it goes!
