Even though we don’t realize it, about 40% of what we do every day are habits – things we do each day without much thought like brushing teeth, taking a shower, having coffee, putting on shoes… you get the idea. And since habits make up such a big part of our life, it only makes sense to root for the ones that add value to our life. So, let’s dig into some effective ways to change your habits the way you like and make them stick.
3 Ways to change your habits effectively
Too much work or stress can make us fall back into bad habits like slouching at the desk, missing daily exercise, having pizza for lunch, or biting nails. And as psychology professor Dr. Wendy Wood says,
“Willpower is a limited resource, and when it runs out you fall back on habits.”
So, replacing or changing bad habits makes more sense than breaking them because breaking habits depends heavily on will power, it’s a full-on overhaul.
It’s easier to replace or change habits than break them because habits are mostly ideas dug deep into our subconscious… things that we do without even thinking about them.
1. Situation support technique
Situation support is one technique that works really well. We essentially, make it easier to do the thing we want to and make it harder to do the one that we want to change. Like, if I want to manage my weight better, I will keep healthier snacks in my fridge and on the counter top. Because even though the cue of hunger or boredom makes me go get a snack, it will be healthier and so help me manage weight better. And as Jim Rohn said,
“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”
Changing habits is about making smarter choices to eventually reach the goals we want.
2. Strategies to stay consistent
Habit forming actions or routines are linked to the autopilot part of our brain, basal ganglia, that also controls things like swallowing & breathing… things we don’t have to think about while doing. To make something automatic or reflexive to any cue, we need to keep repeating it consistently until it signals to our brain that this action is good and is the best way of doing this thing.
A while back I enrolled in a psychology for wellbeing course and as part of an assignment, I chose meditation. So, I had to do it everyday and chart my experience.
Now, accountability like announcing you are going to do something or having someone check on you every day so that you stay consistent…has never worked for me in the past, somehow it didn’t feel comfortable to me. But, this type of accountability…having your grades depend on that worked just right.
Now, I learned 3 things from this experience about staying consistent when trying to build any habit –
- Having some kind of accountability really changes the game, but the key is to choose one that matches your personality or your style.
- It’s okay and even good to take a short break or tone things down once in a while when it starts feeling overwhelming, you feel too much resistance to it.
- Sometimes a bit of guidance can make things feel easier so that we can continue to keep showing up. I found that using a meditation app to guide me through it and also track my progress. Somehow made it more enjoyable and so easier to keep showing up.
3. When falling back into bad habits
Now, we all know how easy it is to fall back into bad habits whether because of stress like ordering pizza again because we didn’t have time to make dinner. Or, giving up because we messed up once. Like, couldn’t wake up to go the gym on Monday… so what’s the use, why not sleep in the rest of the week?
Watch the video up top to know what stops us from falling back into bad habits even without realizing it.
