To make any habit easy to build, you first must make it obvious. In other words, don’t hide the fact you are trying to build a new habit and stop an old one.
Once your habit becomes automatic, you will stop paying attention to what you are doing and change becomes easier.
The process of behaviour change always starts with awareness.
You need to be aware of your habits before you can change them.
Pointing and calling out the habits you want to change raises a level of awareness from a non-conscious habit to a more conscious level by verbalising your actions.
The two most common cues you can use to become more aware of your new habit are time and location.
Creating what is called an ‘Implementation intention’ is a good strategy you can use to pair your new habit with a specific time and location.
Your implementation intention can be worded as: I will change into my running gear [behaviour] at 5pm [time] as I am leaving work [location].
Habit stacking is also a good strategy you can use to pair a new habit with a current habit.
A habit stack could be: After [current habit], I will [new habit]
A good example would be: “When I am brushing my teeth, I will stretch my calves.”
An even stronger way to build a habit is to get to be initiated by a cue. We are more likely to notice cues that stand out. Make the cues of good habits obvious in your environment.
This is helpful as, gradually; your habit will become more associated with your environment than relying on a set trigger.
Check Out The Next Lesson On How To Build A Habit:
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Just drop me an email at myhealthcoachuk@gmail.com, or join one of my 30-Day Habit Challenges.
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