It’s a little bit further on into the new year now, nobody is even thinking of New Year’s resolutions – we’re caught up in the everyday grind, the emails, the dinners, the school runs and the general hum drum of life. Not a lot has changed. Even if I look back at this year and the previous year, really there isn’t a HUGE difference and I have certainly forgotten about that list I put together with a friend on all the things we would do. Here’s the thing, our lives are not the summary of abstract decisions (like my list), but rather the summary of healthy habits.
Habits are like our default, they are the hum drum, they are what sum up our day, week and month. Unless we have good habits, our New Year resolutions fall flat on their face. Ouch, not a nice image – but its true…
Healthy habits are not easy to create (if they were then everyone would be a super fit, uber productive, happy happy smiling success). The good news is – “it can be done!” Yes, it can, habits can be broken and new habits can be built, it just takes some good practical tips to get you on the right direction. Guess what, here they are, now you have zero excuses.
Tip 1
Admit the problem. Face up! Yes, it’s great to pretend you don’t have a weight problem, but if the scale is telling you something different then you may want to rethink your ideas. Sometimes we trick ourselves into really believing we don’t have a problem. Be honest. Write it down. “I have a problem with…”
Tip 2
Understand how it all works
A habit has three components:
The trigger: whatever is getting you started (the box of Kitkats on the shelf, for example).
The behaviour: our response to the trigger (eating the box of Kitkats on the shelf)
and the reward: the hit we get when we do it. We feel rewarded, we feel good (those Kitkats taste delicious).
Think about the habit you have, what is the trigger? What do you think is the reward?
Tip 3
What could you replace it with? Find something new, enticing and interesting to replace your old reward with. Perhaps you could buy a new item of clothing for every week you go to the gym. Perhaps you want to picture you, slim and healthy as the new picture. Too often our problem is that we focus on breaking our current habit instead of focusing on the new habit which we want to have.
Try keep the trigger and the reward the same, select an oat bar instead of the Kitkat.
Tip 4
Track your progress. Things don’t happen overnight and they don’t happen without intentionality. Find a tool to track your progress. There are good apps, or just jot it down – whatever, the principle is visual accountability.
Tip 5
Ask for help
Listen, some habits are going to take teamwork. They are going to take your wife on your back. They are going to take support groups, training buddies and OTHER PEOPLE. There is nothing which can substitute this. Nothing. Bite the bullet homies, be open and vulnerable and get someone else involved.
Tip 6
Stay the course
This is the hardest part of the whole sche-bang. Seriously, just whatever you do keep making some small progress. Don’t stop, don’t give up and don’t throw in the towel if you fall off the bus. Any progress is progress.
It takes 70 days to create a new habit. And then most of the hard work is completed. But now that you understand the problem, if you keep at it consistently and smartly, I am confident you can shake free and experience the results you want.