Our daily habits may control more than we know. According to Charles Duhigg the author of The Power of Habit, “One paper published by a Duke University researcher in 2006 found that more than 40 percent of the actions people performed each day weren’t actual decisions, but habits.” This means almost half of our actions happened subconsciously… So by taking the necessary steps to shift our routines because the brain doesn’t know the difference between a good and a bad one, we could accomplish major things. Check out this interesting piece from Charles book:
Once we develop a routine of sitting on the couch, rather than running, or snacking whenever we pass a doughnut box, those patterns always remain inside our heads. By the same rule, though, if we learn to create new neurological routines that overpower those behaviors- if we take control of the habit loop-we can force those bad tendencies into the background…
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to change my habit loop. Charles states the habit loop is based on a cue, routine, and a reward. Here’s another passage from his book going into detail about the loop process:
This process within our brains is a three-step loop. First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out it this particular loop is worth remembering for the future.
If you want to start running each morning, it’s essential that you choose a simple cue (like always lacing up your sneakers before breakfast or leaving your running clothes next to your bed) and a clear reward (such as a midday treat, a sense of accomplishment from recording your miles, or the endorphin rush you get from a jog). But countless studies have shown that a cue and a reward, on their own, aren’t enough for a new habit to last. Only when your brain starts expecting the reward- craving the endorphin or sense of accomplishment- will it become automatic to lace up your jogging shoes each morning.
So in other words, we have to make whatever we want to accomplish convenient for us. If we have to hunt down our workout gear every time we want to exercise, eventually we will get tired and quit. We also have to reward ourselves for accomplishing our goal. This keeps us motivated long enough (approximately 60 days according to one article) until whatever we are trying to accomplish becomes second nature. It will become just like tying your shoes or putting on your pants. You can do both of these task without even thinking about it. Now imagine burning fat without even thinking about it!
Our environment and those we keep as company also plays a huge role. With the right environment and people, our transition to whatever we want to accomplish will be that much easier. According Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Switch, “Our habits are essentially stitched into our environment.” This is nothing new to most of us. We realized a long time ago that we are what we eat and who we hang around be it consciously or subconsciously. If we hang out with people with a losing mentality, eventually we will become losers; however, if we hang out with people with winning attitudes, eventually will have the same. Let’s take Toney Dungy for an example; he believed that the key to winning was changing players’ habits. According to Charles, Toney wanted to get players to stop making so many decisions during a game and instead have them react automatically. He didn’t throw a ton of information at his players; he simply abridged his playbook and had to players practice them until they didn’t have to think about it.
For those who don’t remember, Coach Dungy got his first job as a head coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996. The Buccaneers were horrible as a team. However within a few years of coaching the Bucs, the team adopted his philosophy of reacting instead of thinking and within a few years, became a winning organization. Check out this passage from the book The Power of Habit:
Dungy’s system would eventually turn the Bucs into one of the league’s winningest teams. He would become the only coach in NFL history to reach the play-offs in ten consecutive years, the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl, and one of the most respected figures in professional athletics. His coaching techniques would spread throughout the league and all of sports. His approach would help illuminate how to remake the habits in anyone’s life.
As you can see, Dungy’s approach has had a major impact. To reach the play-offs that many times, the record speaks for itself.
Our habits will continue to play a huge role in our lifestyle and our success. It will determine whether we are healthy or obese, winners or losers, and/or many other things that form our lifestyle. Here is an example of changing a bad habit to a good one:
Let’s say we are a couch potato. As soon we get home, our routine is to grab a bowl of popcorn, pick-up our remote, and plop down and watch television for the next 3 or four hours. Let’s say this habit has led us to an additional 30 pounds of fat over the years. Instead of replacing the habit of sitting down and watching TV, we can change what we do before and during our sit down time. We can now do 10 pushups and/or sit-ups before we sit down and during each commercial. This small step will do wonders for our health. Since we already watch television for three hours, we will be working out during that whole time which will lead to a healthier body and help us become impervious to junk.
Do you have a problem with changing a bad habit or do you have another way of going about changing one? If so, please send in a question or an example in the comment section. I would love to hear from you!
balancej 