Change your Habits, Change Your Life

We all have habits. Some of them serve us well because they are good habits, and some do not serve us well because they are bad habits. But what is good and what is bad?

A good habit to one person may be a bad habit to another person and vice versa. It comes down to how we see ourselves and our world. We are all different, we see our worlds as different. In his book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People', Stephen R. Covey says that "the key to valuing those differences is to realise that all people see the world, not as it is, but as they are".

Habits are essential; they have the power to shape our lives. James Clear provides three reasons why habits are important in his book 'Atomic Habits'.

1. Small changes compound. The concept is that if you get 1 per cent better each day for a year, you’ll end up 37 times better when you’re done. This can also work the other way. If you get 1 per cent worse, you’ll decline to nearly zero after a year.

2. Habits save mental energy. A habit is a behaviour repeated enough times to become automatic, so they are helpful because they are mental shortcuts. By making simple tasks automatic, they free up our minds to focus on more important things and to be creative.

3. Almost half our lives are habitual. Researchers estimate that about 40–50% of our daily actions are habitual, and they can shape our actions for minutes or hours afterwards. Our habits support our roadmap to achieve our goals and serve as an entry point for our later efforts.

There are multiple benefits that good habits provide, such as improving efficiency, productivity, adaptability, consistency, discipline, confidence and achieving goals. Good habits that serve you and are aligned with your values also reduce stress and anxiety and support you in achieving your long-term vision.

“Successful people are simply those with successful habits.” Brian Tracy

Whatever your habits are, they got you to where you are today. So it goes without saying that if you want to get somewhere else in life, then changing your habits will change your life. Habits are the routine behaviours or actions we perform automatically and regularly, often without conscious thought, and become ingrained in our daily lives. Habits include exercise, brushing teeth, sleeping, eating, productivity, planning etc. But what about looking at them from a behavioural viewpoint, not just a transaction? As Brian Tracy says, “Successful people are simply those with successful habits.”

If you want a different future, it may be time to change your habits. To change our habits, we need to look deeper than transactions in life. James Clear explains that three layers of behavioural change influence habits. When we change our behaviour, we can change our life; habits are the vehicle to do this. The first layer is outcomes, the second is processes, and the third is identity.

Outcomes are about what you get, processes are about what you do, and identity is about what you believe. Clear explains that the process of building habits is the process of becoming yourself, and he breaks habits down into two types:

• Outcome Based Habits where the focus is on what you want to achieve. This is about the action and the system of processes to achieve an outcome at a point in time. For example, you want to become physically fitter and healthier, so you start an exercise regime and stick to it until the goal is achieved because that was the outcome aimed for.

• Identity Based Habits where the focus is on who you wish to become. This is about the type of person you want to be, and believe in, as the best version of yourself and the system of processes you establish as habits to become that person. For example, you decide you are a fit and healthy person, so you adopt an exercise regime and continue with it even once the initial goal is achieved because being fit and healthy is a part of your identity.

Habits shape our identities because every action taken forms a bit of our identity. Identities shape our habits because our behaviours reflect our identities, even unconsciously. How we do the little things is how we do everything, so by developing successful identity-based habits, we can transform many aspects of our lives. We can create successful habits that serve and support us in achieving what we want. This will ultimately lead us to the outcomes - the personal and professional achievements. This is the ultimate form of intrinsic motivation when a habit becomes part of your identity.

When it comes to Identity Based Habits, there are two simple steps:

1. Decide the type of person you want to be

What do you want? Once you decide this, commit to believing it is possible, then set about making it happen. New identities require new evidence. The most effective way to create any change you want is to change what you do. Each time you write a page - you are a writer. Each time you encourage an employee - you are a leader. Each day, you do not smoke - you are a non-smoker. Each time you start a workout - you are a healthy person.

2. Choose one habit you need to change to start.

When you have goals to achieve, they give you direction. So, if you want to be somewhere different in the future, you need different habits to progress towards your goals. Habits show you that you can create the change you want to achieve your goals. Here are a few guidelines to build on a new habit:

• Start with a small habit, and make consistency easy.

• Increase your habit in small ways because as you build on your habit, you will gradually improve. Remember, one per cent improvements add up quickly.

• Get back up when you slip. It’s not how many times we fall over that counts but how many times we get back up again.

To create your habit, there are four steps modelled on 'The Habit Loop' by James Clear in his book 'Atomic Habits'. At Leaders Network, we call this the Habit Cycle.

Trigger - the brain receives information and predicts a result, which triggers the brain to initiate a behaviour.

Motivation - the brain predicts a result, inspiring motivation to act.

Strategy - is the response to the motivation, the habit performed. Everything is a strategy as a function of motivation, and the friction will result in the action.

Result - the first three steps lead to the result. The trigger makes us notice a possible result. Motivation makes us want the result. The strategy adopted obtains the result. The result makes the behaviour happen again.

Habit formation is beneficial because it reduces cognitive load and frees up mental capacity so attention can be allocated to other tasks. The goals we set for ourselves provide a direction; however, the system of habits we have in place is best for making progress. James Clear highlights, "You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems." Creating change with habits will enable you to achieve the goals you set for yourself in life. Habits are a system we put in, which is why James Clears’ insight is so powerful.

If you want to explore how changing habits can change your life, book a Free Strategy Session with a lead coach at Leaders Network.