7 HACKS TO SMASH A NEW HABIT

Last week I tapped an Uber driver on the shoulder to ask him a question. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, drove onto the footpath, and stopped just centimetres from a shop window. For a second, everything went quiet in the car, then the driver said, “Look, love, don’t ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of me!” I apologised saying, “I didn’t realise that a little tap would scare you so much.” The driver replied, “Sorry, it’s not really your fault. Today is my first day as an Uber driver. I’ve been driving a hearse around for the last 25 years!”

As a change leadership coach, I often work with people to support them with change and embedding new habits. In fact, this article was inspired by one; Wendy Middleton, the founder of A Cut Above Nutrition who reached out to me for support on how to help her clients stick to new ‘healthy’ habits. It's one thing to have a professional help you with a new healthy diet plan but that’s only half the work. We also need to be prepared for natural friction and some resistance when we start changing our familiar routines.

As a result, Wendy and I came up with seven hacks to smash a new habit. If you’re looking to make a change or develop a new habit, I highly recommend picking up a pen and a blank sheet of paper, reading through these seven hacks and reflecting on what could apply to you. You don’t need endless reserves of motivation, just some time to reflect. As a coach, I find the most powerful changes come from reflection on ourselves and our thinking. If we can become objective observers, we can have insights, plan and make decisions before we start trying to change. This puts us in far better shape for success versus diving straight in with nothing but a noble intention.

Why does the brain prefer old habits

You may have heard the term ‘force of habit’; an involuntary behaviour or an automated response that occurs in a familiar way. What we do every day is driven by the patterns and habits we’ve built up over time. We may well have the momentum to begin something new, but it will take energy and require a certain amount of motivation. If we lack energy or lose motivation after our first or second attempt, we can lose confidence in our ability to sustain it or, worse, drop it altogether.

Start with the end in mind: What is your goal?

We first need something to aim for. Goals provide the direction we need to be more deliberate and focused. Research tells us that stating the goal as though it has already happened, primes the subconscious to start behaving in alignment with the new you. If we also make the goal inspiring to us, all the better! For example, if you want to lose weight the goal may be: “I bounce out of bed every morning” or “I feel strong and healthy”. If your goal is to eat more vegetables, your goal might be: ‘I am the Veggie Queen’.

1: Define who you want to be?

Often our identity is shaped and formed by the internal story we tell ourselves. Your habits reinforce a particular identity. This can be positive and sometimes negative. Once you’ve adopted a new identity and start acting in alignment with the person you want to be, it will become easier.

Imagine two people trying to quit eating sweets during the week. Person one is offered a sweet and responds, ‘no thanks, I’m trying to quit.' This sounds reasonable, but should they expect their behaviour to change if they carry around the same beliefs? The second person says, ‘no thanks, I only eat treats on weekends'. A small difference, but this response signals a shift in identity change. You may want to feel healthy, but if you identify as a ‘sugar addict’ rather than a ‘veggie eater’ with your food choices, then you will be pulled toward eating sugar. The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain the habits associated with it.

2: Set a specific habit

We often associate getting motivated with willpower. We often fail because we don’t have a specific enough plan for our new habit routine. For example, we may want to set a habit to connect with family and friends more regularly or to drink 2 litres of water per day, but we are not explicit about what, who, when and where. Studies have shown that people who have a specific plan are three times more likely of following through on their actions.

3: Set up your environment

We’ve learned that current habits can dominate. Relying on pure motivation is not a recipe for success; we’re far better to outsmart ourselves ahead of time.

Now that we’ve been specific about a new habit, what might get in the way? For example, if the new habit is to replace your current tea and chocolate ritual after dinner with peppermint tea, what might get in the way of that? Perhaps chocolate is staring at you every time you open the fridge. Therefore, remove all forms of chocolate from a possible future uninhibited self who is tired and stressed and likely to grab and eat.

4: Implementation Intentions

We all know that life can easily get in the way of forming a new habit. In fact, we can almost bet on something or someone distracting and tempting us not to follow through. We need to think ahead and decide what we will do if a roadblock gets in the way. For example, if your new habit is; not to eat treats during the week, an implementation intention could be; IF there is cake offered at a work morning tea THEN I will make myself a herbal tea and take the opportunity to talk to someone new instead.

5: Get an accountability partner

Being accountable to yourself is one thing, being accountable to someone else is a great way to keep yourself motivated. When we feel accountable to someone, the threat of not following through on our commitments is enough to snap us into action. Ask someone to be your accountability partner. I chose my cousin who is always asking about my health as she is a picture of health herself. I called her up and asked her to hold me to account every day to do some exercise. I found it really supportive to have her on my case and it motivated me to push myself a bit more.

6: Use a habit tracker or checklist

Some of us feel motivated when we can tick things off. If this is you, download a habit app and track your results. A simple checklist positioned somewhere prominent may also be helpful. I use whiteboard markers and mark up a grid of the days of the week on a large mirror. I like to tick off the day when I've completed a walk or run. The act of ticking things off can release dopamine which is a reward hormone and help create motivation and momentum.

7: Mentally prepare yourself in advance and stay positive!

Creating new habits is taxing on the brain. The working memory has to expend a lot of effort to override existing habits and regulate impulses. You're less likely to succeed if you are emotional, distracted, tired, or even hungry. It’s important to keep a positive mindset.

If you feel like giving up after you’ve begun the journey, just know that every effort you make is storing up your good work. Think of it like popcorn. As the energy and force of the heat builds, at first, it seems like nothing is happening. All of a sudden, the popcorn starts popping. When your efforts don’t seem to be reaping results at first, just imagine your efforts are compounding, and the popcorn will pop when it’s time.

#lifecoaching #healthyliving #motivation