Habits Make Us Who We Are
It is the habits and actions we take, everyday, that move us forward in life or keep us stuck.
An adult makes about 35,000 concsious decisions everyday. This number may sound crazy, but in fact, we make over 200 decisions everyday on food alone according to researchers at Cornell University. It is easy to see how during stressful times, or by by the end of the day, we end up with serious decison fatigue and end up defaulting to our "bad habits." This is why working at creating good habits is so important and creating habits that move us forward becomes the default habit, especially during stressful times.
To create new habits we call on our willpower to make it happen. Contrary to what most of us think, willpower is not a personality trait, skill or virtue. Willpower can be strengthened over time; it is like a muscle, and like stengthening a muscle, the correct amount of work is important. You have to create enough challenge to make the muscle adapt and get stronger, but if there is too much stress (overtraining), you end up in failure. Understanding this is very important in creating new habits.
Three Things to Consider When Creating New Habits
- First, identify clearly what habit you want to create and why you want it. Next break the process down into bite sized pieces that you can focus on.
My friend Bill Jensen has had a very successful career in the ski industry. He has a quote that he looks at everyday, "Inch by inch life is a cinch, yard by yard life is hard." The key to success is to focus on the steps and the process, not the goal itself.
If your goal is to be a "healthy eater," you have to outline exactly what that looks like, and then determine the necessary steps. Maybe it is to pack your own lunch every day. Or maybe it is to always keep healthy snacks in the fridge, like veggies and hummus, so that you have healthy snacks when you get home instead of reaching for the cheese and crackers or the chips.
- Create space to create new habits
What activities are you doing now that you can let go of? This is a really important step that is often overlooked. Creating new habits takes energy and willpower. Both of those are finite and thinking that you are going to cram in another activitiy is a recipe for frustration and disappointment. Are you spending time with people you don't really want to be with? Are you spending too much time watching TV or surfing the internet? Create space so that new things can happen.
- Measure your progress and make necessary adjustments
You can't manage what you don't measure. Create a spreadsheet or journal about your progress. I like a spreadsheet. Sleep is a big priority for me these days and so I am working at being a better sleeper. Research shows that poor sleepers can beocme good sleepers by using a procces called cognitive behavioral therapy. So, the behaviors and improved habits I am working on are:
- Consistently getting into bed at 9:30pm and going straight to sleep; no more reading in bed. My bed needs to be for sleeping only.
- No napping. I need to build sleep debt so I will fall asleep easier.
- When I wake up in the middle of the night, and ca not get back to sleep after 15 minutes, I get out of bed and go into the living room and read until I feel drowsy enough to fall back asleep. This step is hard, especially in the winter.
- Track how many hours I actually sleep each night.
When I focus on the process of becoming a good sleeper and track my progress, I build confidence and motivation, which, in turn improves and helps me manage my sleep.