The power of habits

Incorporating a new habit is not an easy task. This is a long and full of pitfalls process that will give you challenge. But in the end you will benefit from a good amount of satisfaction.

Researches conducted by the psychologist Phillipa Lally in years 2009 has shown that it would take about 66 days to adopt a new habit. Adopting a new habit means that we will incorporate it in our daily life (or in a week), that we will do naturally without living it as a constraint.

Do we have to suffer to accomplish things?

Well, it depends on the hardness of the new task/activity we want to implement in our daily lives.But as the procrastination article dealt about, the more challenging the habit is, the harder it will be to implement as it will require unusual efforts.

In fact, it can be disruptive, and so, a source of pain from which we want to move away. But in some ways this is necessary to be able to move ahead. Pain is way not an end.

"We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough."

Th quote from Helen Keller, an American author who notably fought for women’s right to vote, is quite explicit. Indeed, as far as we stick to a certain activity, project, mindset, we can create a lot. If we apprehend thisn quote through a new reading level, we can imagine that habits are part of such affirmation. In fact, habits define who you are in the long run, and by doing (or not) you define yourself. Repetition that will give the reward.

We know that habits are based upon 3 variables:

• The CUE which stands for a trigger, and that puts you in an “automatic mode”. It can be a location, a time of the day, other people or an emotional state.
  

• The ROUTINE which is the behaviour you engage just after the cue. For example when you are waiting in a queue, you will, 99% of the time, spend that time by using your smartphone.
  

• The REWARD, generated from the behaviour. This is the pleasure given by the completion of the task.

Once the habit is implemented, it’s part of our daily life, and that’s why it’s difficult to change. We have been used to it and as we perform it each day, we will suffer from moving from it.

By the way, we see and we know that our brain is designed with a reward system.

CONCLUSION

“If you change your daily routine for 66 days in a row, this change will become a habit that you will perform automatically, without even thinking about it.”

This is a true asset as we know that decision making is a generator of mental fatigue, and ultimately stress… Which is definitely a state if mind that we want to avoid.

By changing what we do during our days and so by changing the way we use our time, it will become natural. Charles Duhigg, through his book "The power of habit" explains a lot about implementing new processes into our lives to get more control, and more satisfaction.

By being consistent we change our perspectives.

TIPS

Based on the research of Phillipa Lally, here is what we can advise to establish a new habit:

- Clarify the habit, by precising something pretty accurate (e.g call a friend/relative per day, do a 30 minutes sport session ach day, go to your job location by bike,…);

- Commit to it for as long as you can (66 days seem to be a certain end);

- Project what will be your cue (is it a moment? An object?...);

- Set-up the place of the habit (is it at the office or at home?...);

- Stay consistent (use reminder, alarms…).

Thanks for reading :)

Valentin