The Power of Habits : Shaping your identity and creating lasting change

Brad Dixon August 13, 2019

There was a great chapter in the book "The Telomere Effect : a revolutionary approach to living younger, healthier, longer" on habit formation and annihilation. I'm always amazed that when I talk to my clients about the ONE habit they want to START or ONE to stop - they look down and tell me. We all know deep down what they are, what habits are not serving us or what habits are taking us further and further away from who we want to be. So before you read this lovely list that I prepared earlier think of TWO habits - ONE you want to entrench, and ONE you want to stop. Got them? Good. Now read on and apply this simple knowledge.

HABIT CHANGE TIPS

Create New habits

  1. Small changes - slip in painlessly, small steps work better most of the time and allow good traction for new habits to hold.
  2. Tack it - tack the new habit on an already established habit. This will help with making it established routine also. eg lunch break for 15min power walk with bare arms.
  3. Mornings are GO - schedule change for the morning, the earlier in the day the less chance other priorities will nudge it out of the way.
  4. Just DO it - don't mull over change behaviours over when decided, just get into it - that first 5sec of behaviour change can catapult momentum e.g rip the covers off and get out of bed DON"T lay there and think about it. 
  5. Celebrate it - give your self a mental pat on the back, reward yourself after completing it 10 times. 

Breaking OLD habits

  1. Help the brain execute plans - we need to activate analytical thought patterns not emotional ones. So more activity in the prefrontal cortex rather than the amygdala. Exercise, downshifting, meditation, and highly nutritious foods help this propagate this state. 
  2. Don't change when feeling depleted - Low sleep, low blood sugar, or emotional stress will deplete will power for change.
  3. Shape your environment to decrease temptation - Don't buy crap food so it's not in your home. Stimulus control is very important in establishing good habits. 
  4. Follow your individual rhythms - This is when you will have MORE power to stoke the willpower. If you are a night owl you will be more able to resist temptation in the evening and likely to "slip up" in the morning. Plan accordingly 
  5. ASK your support network to support - tell friends and family your goals. Get a training buddy, check in, be accountable to someone. Keep moving your behaviour change to front of mind. 

 

Now don't just read this list - apply it to your own life and evolve. Get in touch if you want to discuss habit formation. 

 

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