The Power of Harnessing New Habits For Lasting Positive Change
When you think about the word ‘habits’, it seems like a fairly unassuming word. But, it’s not actually a word many of us think much about at all. Its very nature means taking action without giving it much, if any, thought.
Habits, however, are the essential foundation beneath any productivity practice.
The appearance of superhuman levels of self-discipline is simply a collection of strong habits, carefully cultivated over time.’ – Chris Sparkes
With this in mind, mediocrity is nothing but a collection of poor habits left unexamined and unchallenged to take over someone’s life and lifestyle.
What are habits?
Habits can be defined as an “automatic behaviour that is triggered by context from the situation.”
Humans are, by nature, creatures of habit. According to Chris Sparkes, 45% of our reported activities in a given day are habitual, performed automatically without much thought.
Wow, this actually opens up the possibility of taking back the control of over half of what we do with the rest of our life.
But right now, in the middle of lockdown during the worst pandemic the world has ever seen, this feels overwhelming at best.
Starting small counts
A manageable place to start, during lockdown times, is by starting to think about some small habits you can start right now, that will make you feel better about yourself.
The other day, I invited Kate Oakley, a Personal Trainer @yourfuturefit, to join me on Hey Saturday’s IGTV to discuss the power of harnessing small habits to create big change. The video is below.
We cover:
- why New Year resolutions tend to fail (especially during lockdown)
- how to use small habits to become the person you aspire to be
- how long it takes to form a new habit (it’s probably not the answer you’re expecting
- why replacing a bad habit with a good one works
- why starting with just 2 minutes here and there really works
Phew…Kate was amazing. I loved our chat so much, she was brilliant! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Thank you.
I have learned so much and am keen to start taking a look at all my habits, good and bad. I’m going to review what I need to lose, what I need to improve and which new ones I can start to create. It’s exciting knowing I can take back the control of the direction of my life in this way.
I don’t know about you but I’m feeling fired up and inspired.
In the interview, Kate mentions the book Atomic Habit by James Clear, which is now on my 2021 reading list.
If you’re struggling during this latest lockdown, you might like to read the article I wrote during the first one on 21 things that might make life a little less stressful during lockdown.
