Supplemental Talk: Building Habits
Why is it so difficult to make consistent change? Balancing our desire to make life-changing shifts with the need to build small, sustainable habits is critical.
How to Build Habits that Stick
- Stop relying on motivation. Motivation is like the weather. When attempting to build a habit the first week’s level of motivation is much different than the fifth.
- Your current ability level matters. You have to make the new habit easy to do. Make sure to set small goals that are realistic to your current situation.
- Design prompts to assist. What steps will induce the new habit to happen?
Psychological Roadblocks
- Thinking themes run throughout all of us
- Your internal self-talk is strong and can get in the way
- Have a strategy for your primary and secondary roadblocks.
Simplify It Through Behavior
- Implementation Formula = I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].
- We rarely say when and where habits are going to happen.
- Habit Stacking Formula = After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
- Works best when the cue is highly specific and immediately actionable.
- 4 P’s: Plan, Prepare, Pause, Proceed
- Creating the plan is easy, execution is hard.
Recommended Reading
- The Power of Habit by Charles Dewigg
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- High Performance Habits by Brendon Bruchard
- Coach Yourself Thin by Greg Hottinger and Michael Shultz
- 4 Disciplines of Execution by Stephen Covey
- Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg