Whether in the area of fitness, nutrition, behavior, or anything else, we all are often motivated to change for the better. Whether that means breaking bad habits or forming new good habits, it still requires training the body or accustoming the brain to new ways of doing things. So many of my students have asked for advice on this, particularly as those New Year’s resolution motivations start to wear off. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I’d like to list some things to consider. Some may seem obvious, others not so much, but it’s important to contemplate these with an open mind while accepting that we are all human–which you’ll see has its benefits and shortcomings when it comes to positive habit formation:
- First, whether for yourself or as a coach you need to appreciate the fact that all the great information in the world is not enough to cause behavior change. BJ Fogg (see book link below) calls this the information-action fallacy. Basically what it means is that no matter how well we know something is good or bad for us, knowing the facts alone will not result in habit forming. This is why so many people still smoke despite whatever is added to cigarette black box warning.
- Although some people do better in the short-term with ‘quitting cold turkey’ or ‘jumping all in’, the key to lasting habits is taking small steps. You want to do 100 additional push-ups/day? Start with 2, and add 2/week. Imagine where you’d be today if you started that last year?
- If something is truly important to you, you WILL make time for it, even if it’s only a small amount of time. This is about being 100% honest with yourself (and others). An excuse can be made to not do anything, and a reason can be provided to do anything. If you are 100% honest with yourself, you will be able to find some motivator behind everything you do or do not do. This is the hardest part and takes great introspection.
- Three things need to come together to form a new habit:
- Motivation…the easiest to get in the short-term (i.e. New Year’s resolutions), but unsustainable alone without these next two.
- Ability…you have to be able to–physically, mentally, logistically, etc.–execute on your plan. This is where small steps help.
- Prompts…this generally comes down to both scheduling and association (or disassociation). Make it as easy as possible. Ideally so you’d have to choose the opposite. You’ve all heard the examples. These are easy to blow off, but trust me they are important, e.g. putting the floss on top of your toothbrush so that you floss every time you brush your teeth. Or not having your favorite candy in the house. Or sleeping in your jogging clothes. Or companies making the default 401(k) option to opt in.
- I often joke with family and friends about some of us having borderline OCD with some of our healthy habits. While clinical OCD is obviously a problem and one can go too far here, having tendencies toward healthy addictions is a very powerful trigger to make habits stick long-term.
- Do not discount accountability and/or reward systems. I discussed this in my 1/26 update blog, and there are some notes there on the psychology of why things such as having a workout partner or using social media to your advantage can help many with regard to personal accountability.
- In general, having a healthy and balanced perspective on life always helps you develop good behavioral patterns and sticking with them. Check out the last resource listed below to hear more about what I mean here.
Some resource links if you’d like more information on the topic:
- Atomic habits by James Clear ( You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.)
- Tiny habits by BJ Fogg Tiny habits
- Podcast on procrastination from Adam Grant’s WorkLife, as we all know procrastination can be the enemy to starting any process.
- And finally, no matter what you think of Joe Rogan and Steven Dubnar (for anyone who says as much as they do publically, I’m sure you’ll find things to not like as well as things to like), there’s a stretch of this podcast between them on The Joe Rogan Experience that articulates what I call a healthy perspective on life. Listen for ~30 minutes starting at ~52 minutes in. Enjoy!