Have you ever tried to build a habit but failed miserably? I know I have.
According to a study by the University of Scranton, only one person in ten fulfils their New Year’s Resolution. In other words, 9 out of 10 people fail.
Even worse, they’ve failed by the second week of February. They only make it six weeks into the year before they quit and give up.
What are they doing wrong?
Today, we will dive into the fascinating world of habit-building with Dr BJ Fogg.
You will learn three big reasons your habit-building will fail. And what to do instead.
Understanding these pitfalls is crucial for your success, whether you’re trying to eat healthier, exercise more, write books like me, or adopt a more productive routine.
Professor BJ Fogg is a behavioural scientist at Stanford University. And he’s a world expert working on habit formation. He has revolutionized how we approach building habits and changing our behaviours for the better.
He’s also the author of the book, Tiny Habits.
The first reason your habit-building will fail is motivation.
If your motivation or desire to do a task is low then you’re not likely to take that action. For instance, if you don’t like going to the gym then you probably won’t go.
The second reason your habit-building will fail is ability.
If something is easy to do then you’re more likely to do it.
For instance, if you have a kettlebell at your feet you’re more likely to use it than if you have to drive five miles to the gym.
The third reason your habit-building fails is a poor prompt.
We only take action when we are triggered or prompted to. The classic example is when the phone rings. We’re instantly triggered to answer it.
A good prompt triggers your behaviour at the right time. For instance, you set your alarm to wake up at 7 am or wash your hands before preparing food.
So how do you overcome these three problems so you can build lasting habits and fulfil your goals?
Dr BJ Fogg has come up with a super simple solution: Build Tiny Habits.
You want to build a tiny habit because your motivation to do it will be smaller than a big habit. Plus it will be easier to perform.
For instance, doing 100 pushups is hard and takes a lot of motivation. But doing only one pushup is easy.
Yes, of course, your long-term goal is not to be able to do only one push-up.
But this points to a fourth reason that you fail to build lasting habits.
You want immediate results. And you quit before you build your habit. You want to do 100 pushups on day one and continue doing it. But’s that hard.
As Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said; “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”
The key to successful habit-building is to build up slowly and steadily.
The goal is consistency – to perform your habit regularly so that is becomes automatic.
This works for three reasons.
This triggers the obvious question: How do you build a tiny habit?
You start by breaking down your overall habit goal into the smallest steps you can take.
For instance, one pushup. If you can consistently do one pushup then soon you’ll you’ll be able to do two. And then you’ll be able to do ten, then twenty and soon enough you’ll be able to do 100.
The secret is not to start too big.
When you do that you’re relying too much on your motivation and your ability. And we’ve already said they’re too big reasons you will fail to build a lasting habit.
Instead, start small and slowly increase the level of your challenge.
The real goal is to wire the habit into your brain so it becomes easy and automatic to perform. This requires consistency.
And remember, it’s the little things in life that become the foundation for the big things.
If you want more on Dr BJ Fogg and building habits then buy his book, Tiny Habits. I’ve read eight books on habit building and I rate this one the best for how to build habits.
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