Creating New Habits
When we want to create new habits, it is easier to attach or ‘stack’ a new habit onto an existing one, something you always do that is already embedded into your long term memory and therefore reliably part of your schedule. We call this ‘habit stacking’.
When working to identify actions you will take, be very specific about what your new practice will be and ensure that you are clear about:
What exactly you will be doing?
How many times you will repeat it?
Which days of the week you will do it?
The kind of focus that you’ll apply to it?
And what kind of result you want from it?
Once you identify what you will commit to doing, you then need to work on accountability as you make that change. That usually means focusing on whether you have or haven't done the things you said you would do. Perhaps you can get support by telling other people what you intend to do. Regarding accountability, you could use either pain or pleasure as a motivator.
Pain
You can put pressure on yourself, raising your cortisol levels, and lowering your dopamine levels. (This is motivating because you’ll want to avoid potential pain but should be used sparingly as you DON’T want to make your life miserable!).
Pleasure
You can motivate yourself positively by rewarding yourself, raising your dopamine and lowering your cortisol levels. You may also notice a pattern about how you hold yourself to account. For example, do you always beat yourself up or always forgive yourself?
It is helpful to think about this in the context of the Performance Pathway.
Ideally, you want to create an empowering chemistry on the DHEA side of the grid rather than a threat chemistry on the cortisol side of the grid. Celebrating progress and even the lack of it by looking at what has been learned will help you boost your DHEA.
Developing a habit
Commit to 30 or 60 Days
Research indicates that it can take anywhere from three weeks to 60 days to create a new habit. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain. Aim to commit to one month minimum.
Write it Down
A piece of paper with a resolution on it isn’t that important. Writing that resolution is. Writing makes your ideas clearer and focuses you on your end result.
Make it Daily/Be Consistent
Consistency is critical if you want to make a habit stick. Establish your desired cadence (daily, three times per week, etc.) and stick to it. If you can commit to a daily practice will make it easier to create the new habit because it is more difficult to lock in habits with things you do once every few days. Also, the more consistent you can be with when/where you engage in X, the greater the chances of creating that habit. Establishing cues such as time of day, place and circumstances help habits stick.
Start Simple
Set realistic expectations and goals you know you can achieve. Too often we aim to accomplish too much, which sets ourselves up for disappointment. For example, if you want to improve your breathing and posture, choose one of those habits to start. Once established, move on to the other habit.
Use Triggers and Reminders
By placing a new habit alongside an established habit (something you always do) you create an effective trigger that makes it much easier for you to remember and integrate the new habit in your life. If you want to change your posture, your trigger could be pouring your first cup of tea in the morning.
The sequence would be, set posture – pour the tea. Re: reminders, approximately two weeks into your commitment it can be easy to forget. Set reminders to execute your habit each day to help you stay on track.
Find a Buddy
Find someone who will go along with you and help keep you motivated.
Remove Temptation
Manage your environment so that it won’t tempt you in the first 30 days. Remove junk food from your house, throw out cigarettes, etc…eliminating the things that test your willpower.
Replace Lost Needs – If you are giving up something in your habit, make sure you are adequately replacing any needs you’ve lost. For example, if you want to watch less television but it helped you relax, replace television with meditation or reading or something else relaxing.
Associate with Role Models – Spend more time with people who model the habits you want to mirror. Research indicates that you become what you spend time around.
Forgive Yourself
Be patient and manage your own expectation. Not all of your attempts to change habits to be successful immediately. It might take several tries. Do your best, and expect a few bumps along the way.
Visualise
Visualise yourself performing the bad habit. Next, visualise yourself pushing aside the bad habit and choosing an alternative. Then visualise yourself in a highly positive state. For example, see yourself picking up the cigarette, see yourself putting it down and snapping your fingers, finally visualise yourself running and breathing freely. Do it a few times until you automatically go through the pattern before executing the old habit.
Daily Habits Tracker - Creating the Winning Cocktail