So it’s nearly the end of January at the time of writing this so I thought a post about new year’s resolutions would be appropriate.
I suspect you might have made some new year’s resolutions yourself?
And I also suspect you might have gave up on them already?
Don’t worry we’ve all done it and I’m not here to make you feel any worse about it.
But what I am here to do, is help you try and ditch new year’s resolutions altogether.
Yep, you heard me.
Get rid of them.
New year’s resolutions may come from good intentions but they are one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves each year. A study in America showed that only around 8% of people actually stick to their new year’s resolutions.
If that’s true then whats the point in even doing them?
I see it happen all the time myself.
The gym is ridiculously busy at the start of January and then 2 weeks later it’s back to normal again. People clearly got excited about smashing the gym and didn’t even make it through the month!
So if new year’s resolutions are a load of crap what do you suggest Conor?
One word.
Habits.
Focus on building habits instead of just saying empty words to yourself.
Everything you do is a habit and habits can be picked up easier than you think.
I think this quote from Jim Ryun explains perfectly why you should focus on building habits instead of new years resolutions:
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going”.
Building Habits
Building a habit isn’t complicated.
It’s simply finding a way to make a certain action feel like second nature to you e.g. brushing your teeth or having that morning coffee.
Habits can range from easy to very difficult and this is determined by each individual.
Using quitting smoking as an example. Someone who has smoked for 10+ years has suddenly decided they want to try and stop smoking. The obvious thing to do is to not buy cigarettes.
This is clearly going to be a habit much harder to kick as opposed to someone looking to get a bit more exercise into their routine. Some habits have been ingrained into people’s routines for years, and even if they are bad they can be hard to change.
“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too
strong to be broken“.
FYI I love a good quote!
Start Small
One of my secret weapons when trying to develop new habits is to start small.
The reason for this is because as we mentioned before, when people would flock to the gyms for the first 2 weeks of January they would lose their ‘motivation’.
I can guarantee that they said to themselves that they would be going to the gym at least 3 times a week without question and that this was the start of a new them (new year new me malarkey).
But what happened when they suddenly stopped going? Why did this happen?
When starting any new endeavor, we usually like to dive in head first and show total commitment. This can be highly motivating but usually can’t be sustained.
This is why I am such a big proponent of taking small steps to begin with, then working your way up. The chance of burnout is far less likely to happen.
Leo Babauta explains this concept in his book; The Power of Less.
He talks about how you can break each goal (big or small) down into manageable, actionable steps. Doing this helps you make a plan for achieving your goals, which in turn can help with consistency.
Slowly Increase
As well as starting out small, don’t forget to slowly increase your efforts over time.
Break your habits (new years resolutions) into chunks. Thinking of running 5k’s 3 days a week?
Then start running 1km every few days and increase by 0.2km, especially if you are only starting out.
Remember the goal is to build the habit and stay on course with consistency.
It is better to do something rather than nothing – Conor Norwood 😉
The Habit Loop
What is a habit loop you may ask?
I first heard about it from Charles Duhigg in his book The Power of Habit.
In the book he says “The Habit Loop is a neurological loop that governs any habit”.
He also states that the habit loop is made up of 3 elements:
- Cue
- Routine
- Reward
Lets take a look at each in detail.
1. Cue
Anything that triggers the habit can be seen as a cue. Think of what cues you use in your own daily habits.
Do you go and boil the kettle first thing in the morning for that sweet cup of caffeinated goodness?
Maybe you’re a bit like myself and crave something sweet after eating meals?
Whatever your cue is, analyse it and notice when that initial cue gives way to put the habit in action.
To give you some help, a cue is usually; a location, a time of day, other people, an emotional state or an immediately preceding action.
2. Routine
The routine part sort of speaks for itself.
This is the behaviour which you would like to alter in some way.
Maybe you want to change it altogether or you might want to make it even stronger.
3. Reward
If you read my last blog post you would have heard me talk about rewards before.
The reward is an important part of the habit as it gives your brain the indication that the action or behaviour you have done is worthwhile.
Therefore, each reward may differ from person to person. Some people love doing exercise and the reward is simple, taking part.
Others may not enjoy exercising so much but they love how they feel after, which is equally just as good a reward.
Two of the same habits but different rewards.
Now you understand the habit loop it’s time to use the information to identify where your habits fit into it. Analyse your own cues, routines and rewards.
Test out new routines and try different rewards to see what best resonates with you. Even just bringing your awareness to your behaviours will get you well on your way to making real change.
Final Thoughts
I have been interested in habits for a long time and I’m always trying to build new ones of my own. I was thinking of doing some sort of video on the subject in the future.
If you like the content on the blog then please join my email list (CLICK HERE). I have tons of extra content in the pipeline.
Thanks for reading!
Conor