3 Powerful Strategies for Habit Change
Habits are the behaviors we do on autopilot - as humans we usually have some good habits and some not so great habits. The good news is it is totally possible to change our habits so they serve us better. Because our habits are automatic behaviors, changing them will take some intentional effort but it is absolutely achievable. When we start to think about changing our behaviors it's common to have the desire to change a lot all at once (a whole new me!). It is much more effective and sustainable to think small. Focus on 1-2 key behaviors you want to change. When we build or change habits we are actually re-writing neural pathways, so we will have more success if we are not trying to do a total brain overhaul all at once!
So where do we begin? Let's start with how to create a new habit and walk through the steps:
Planning: Ask these questions to plan how to add in this habit
What is the habit you would like to add in?
When might this habit fit into your day? Morning, during work, evening, alongside another existing habit?
What is currently getting in your way of creating this habit?
What benefit will this habit bring you?
Try it and track it: try implementing the habit and track your success
Start small - set your goal low and aim for frequency over duration (ex: I will exercise for 5 minutes 4 days this week vs I will exercise for 45 minutes once this week)
Try it out
Track success and be curious, not critical! What worked, what did not work? Ask questions about why it did not work and what would help you to increase success with this habit?
Make needed adjustments and keep going
Try out different times of day
Is there a habit you can stack it to?
Is there a visual cue you can use (putting your gym bag by the door?)
What helps to increase your success with this habit?
What keeps getting in the way?
What could change to allow you to be more successful?
When trying to change your habits the most important thing is to be patient and stay curious! We want to recognize what works and what does not and make the appropriate alterations to our plan. When we are impatient and self critical - it is so hard to see the data that will help us to keep improving our success.
At FLORA we love working with people to create new habits and change old ones. It can be so helpful to have someone walk you through these steps and strategize with you.
