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Habits: How To Learn ANYTHING (by Understanding How We Form Habits – Pt 2 of 2) — 26 Comments

  1. Hi Alan!
    glad to read your blog.habit is depend on the brain.because it is the situation that it strives to people to do this .smoker have a habit of smoking and helper have a habit of helping.success people have a habit of time punctuality to do their work so this one is good habit.
    thanks to joining this blog……….

  2. Wow Alan, you litterally wrote enough for a small book on this subject.

    This topic is a very interesting one to me. Surprisingly, i do agree with you.

    I don’t have much to add except that around 8 months ago, I did my own experiment to form new habbits to achieve more goals by making and forming new habbits but being more conscious of my process.
    The article is here… http://www.annieandre.com/2012/01/set-adventurous-goals-free-worksheet/
    I use a method which almost everyone knows about and that is the SMART way to goal setting.

    for those of you reading this comment and don’t know what that is it’s a business term but i turned it around for use in my personal life and modified it to S.M.A.A.R.T.E.R which is a mnemonic acronym. Each letter represents one actions you must do to counter the main mistakes most people do to sabotage their goals and new habit forming actions.

    I made a worksheet which i fill out for my goals and i use a calendar and daily journal and calendar when i am trying to form new habbits. Here is the basics for each thing I do.

    Each letter represents an action you must do to prevent from sabbotaging your goals.
    Specific= 1- Write Specific Detailed Goals not vague
    MEASUREABLE= Goals should me measure-able
    Actionable= Should be actionable
    Accountable= Maybe Tell Someone? Mastermind group? You decide.
    Record-able = So you can Keep track and build momentum. Calendar, journal etc.
    Time Base = if not time limit no sense of urgency.
    Evaluate= Evaluate & revise as needed.
    Reward= To keep you motivated.

    Anyways, the cues you talk about in your article are very key in my own process like you said, leaving a bag next to the door before going to the gym.

    But having a system really does help. I’ve tried everything over the years and this is by far the most efficient thing i’ve ever done to make new habits stick….

    • Hey Annie,

      why are you surprised you agree?

      I’m glad you liked it.

      That’s very weird though – I very recently wrote something on goal setting where I actually used the acronyms SMART, SMARTER and SMARTEST 😉

      There are a few people out there advocating SMARTER – i.e. SMART + Emotion + Reward (or some variation, Enthusiasm + Reward) – I think this guy was one of the first.

      I still haven’t published that article as I can’t decide what to do with it – it was originally going to be a guest post for another site.

      Anyways, nice to see we’re on the same wavelength 😉

      Are you still using your worksheets and writing out your goals?

      • Yes I use the worksheet for those goals that i know i need help with. For instance, the Paleo diet. Or exercise. I am using it now for a free download product i’m creating which is helping me move along. I thought about using a project management software like i used to use when i worked “A REAL JOB” but it seems like over kill.

        I didn’t use the SMART or SMARTER method but when i was researching how to form new habbits I found a lot of the concepts very useful but had to tweak it to suit me. hence SMAARTER. It’s something i highly advise when setting up your systems for new habbits. Everyone is different and not all methods work for everyone. It was a lot of trial and error. But i finally found the sweet spot.

  3. What a great post – very detailed. I never heard of that monkey experiment before so it was really interesting to read that.

    I agree that you need to have an obsessive motivation for a habit to really stick. When I look back on my habits that have really stuck, I noticed that I obssessed about them. I thought about them a lot and really motivated myself to make them happen. I guess that obssession really made me consistent and that led to the habit becoming a part of my life.

    I’ve often wondered if breaking a bad habit would start with just thinking about what you’re doing. There are those habits you do without even realizing it like a person who lights up a cigarette after a meal. I think being aware of your habits and analyzing them are good first steps.

    • Absolutely Steve,

      what you are doing if you do that, is recognizing the trigger/cue for that habit and what you get out of it (the reward) – the last part isn’t always as easy as it seems to work out – for example with smoking you could think that the reason you are doing it is for the feeling but it could also be for socialization/to be accepted (e.g. ‘social’ smokers), for the look, to calm nerves etc. Or a combination.

      Once you have that the best way to change the habit is actually to keep the cue and reward as intact as possible and change the routine.

  4. Hi Alan,

    Thanks for the mention and I’m back to check out part two.

    At this particular time in my life, all my habits are very good ones. I think that comes with age and deciding what I want in life you know. As Sylviane pointed out, successful people also have habits. They just happen to have different ones then we do apparently.

    I think that habits are just things we don’t have to consciously think about like you mentioned driving a car and learning how to do it from scratch. So for now all of my habits are good ones and I’m sure there is always room for improvement. At least I sure hope so.

    ~Adrienne

    • Hey Adrienne,

      Thanks for your comments and it sounds like you are someone who is good at forming good habits and sticking with them.

      …but … you don’t have any bad habits at all?

      😉

      Alan

      • I don’t think so Alan. Not that I’m squeaky clean but I don’t drink coffee, I don’t smoke cigarettes, I don’t drink alcohol accept on an occasion, I don’t do anything in access. Huh!!!

        • Wow, not bad. Surely what you really mean is you don’t have any habits that are worth worrying about.

          Ever bite your nails? Eat too much ice-cream? Watch too much television?

          Or even have a good habit that you just want to change to a better one?

          My ‘bad’ habits aren’t that bad either but I still have some, or not enough good habits. I don’t smoke (never even tried) or drink either. I drink too much tea (but I don’t know if I even want to change that) but I don’t do enough exercise (which I will change).

  5. Hey Alan,

    So are you saying that if an old habit returns, we find a new way of making the new one stick? Can it really be that simple? Do you have any examples you can share?

    I’ve been thinking about habits a lot since your last post (I’m not obsessive, I promise 😉 and I reckon the ones that have stuck with me have been those I built into a daily routine. For example, a few months ago, I decided to drink more water by placing a 1 litre bottle with a glass on my desk each morning. I would automatically fill the bottle before even switching on my PC, and drink a glass of water whenever I looked at the bottle. It stuck because getting to my desk was a cue to fill the bottle. Not sure what the reward was though …. better skin perhaps??!!

    Is routine just another way of saying habit??!!

    – Razwana

    • Hey Razwana,

      For the water I’d guess the reward is that you know water is good for you and you feel good about drinking more water – which you know is a good thing. You don’t need much more motivation than that because by designing a good routine which is easy to follow, you are able to maintain the habit easily. If you took away that good routine and had a different environment (e.g. you were travelling so every morning had a different desk and had to wake up at different times) you may need more motivation/a better reward in place to maintain that habit.

      I do something similar with water – I have a 1.5 litre bottle of sparkling water which I drink every day. I’,m not a huge fan of water but having the ‘target’ of finishing the bottle makes it easy and I make it easier by making sure I stock up on plenty of these bottles of water – the type I prefer – so I have no excuses. As the day d
      raws to a close if I haven’t finished my bottle, I make sure I do. This on top of any other water I drink generally means I drink enough water. In fact I’m now thinking of progressing to two bottles per day 😉

      In terms of the old habit coming back and replacing it once more with the new habit, I don’t think I said it was simple. Simple in concept maybe, but not easy at least. What you need to do is make it more compelling (i.e. a more compelling reward) for the new habit to take over. Create an obsessive motivation or craving particular to the new habit and it will be easier to replace the old one.

      I hope this helps?

        • I know, I know.

          I like to live life right on the edge.

          Habit is more powerful than willpower – it depends upon what habit you are talking about (and how strong your willpower is).

          e.g. smoking for a lot of smokers = correct, Habit wins
          watching ‘Eastenders’ for someone who suddenly decides to use that time more productively (like reading a book or working on their business) -> probably Will Power wins in that case

  6. Hey Alan,

    I’m back. 🙂 Yes, you did address the question I had concerning sticking with a diet for 3 solid years then drifting away. Apparently the answer lies in the idea you presented about older habits remaining forever. I’ve a few dishes from the 3 year diet which I still enjoy and prepare today. But the years of “comfort foods” prepared by Grannie, Mom and even me are quite a draw to return to the old habits.

    I’ve another question. Our house is a bit chaotic when it comes to schedules. There are 4 adults and 2 children (a 3 year old and a 7 year old) flitting about. One adult has a “normal” schedule which has him leaving at the same time each week day morning and returning at the same time each evening.

    That is about as normal as we get. One adult works part time and sporadically. Another adult works Friday through Monday from about noon till about midnight. Another works Tuesday through Friday from about midnight till about noon. (Notice I said “about” because those start and finish times can, and often do vary by 2 or more hours.)

    What do you suggest concerning forming a habit or learning ANYTHING when the do-this-every-day-strategy seems to be a wild pipe dream?

    • Is the do-this-every-day strategy a wild pipe dream because you can’t do whatever it is at the same time every day or you can’t do it eveery day because you are too busy and you’ll forget?

      • While I’m busy, that isn’t the problem.

        The changing sleep and awake times for different members of the household (and it is a small house) make some things hard to deal with. For example, my exercise equipment is in my bedroom. Hubby is sleeping some days, cheering me on others. On the days he is sleeping the exercise program may or may not be accomplished after he awakens.

        When our temperatures are 105 and over, exercising outside isn’t a real option.

        Yet there are other things which aren’t bothered by the varied sleep patterns. The example I think of right away is grooming. My grooming “time” varies quite a bit. But, my grooming “habits” remain in tact.

        • Hi Yvonne,

          Human Beings are creatures of habit – we can form habits in every situation.

          This means that even if your environment seems sub-optimal for forming habits, they can still be formed – because though the timing helps, it’s far from being the most important factor.
          In short you can make a change if you want it enough and you don’t get in your own way.

          Basically there are 3 things we need to look at – your beliefs, the ‘set up’ of the habit itself and your motivation. It is the 3rd of these which is the most important – by far.

          For example, when you made the changes in your diet I’m guessing a huge motivating factor was your mothers health. You said you continued the habit for a year after your mother passed away but eventually stopped. If your mother was still here and the conditions were the same, would you have stopped? Perhaps you had other motivations but I’m guessing none as compelling as your mother’s health.

          For the habit you’re considering now, how would you describe your level of motivation on a scale of 1-10?

          • Motivation. Is that my nemesis? 🙂 Simple number is 9, I guess. The reason I’m not saying 10 is because on some days it is much lower. But, most of the time I’m ready.
            I think I simply needed affirmation that while daily is good, daily isn’t the make it or break it criteria.

            • If your motivation is genuinely that high, I don’t think that’s your nemesis, no 🙂

              If you’d have given me a lower number the next question would be ‘what would it take to make that motivation a 10?’

              This is by far the most important factor – i.e. if you want something badly enough, ALL other conditions can be overcome.

              The next thing that can get in your way is your beliefs – (take a look at our article on Limiting Beliefs for more info on that) and then you could look at making things easily repeatable with a good routine, obvious cues and extra rewards etc to try and help the habit/change to stick.

              So in short, you don’t have to do something every day – you can (and do) form habits with all kinds of frequencies – in fact most of the time it’s not daily (i.e. when you naturally form habits) – the daily thing is just a trick to make it easier when you consciously want to change something.

              I hope that makes sense…

              • Thanks Alan,
                I’ve enjoyed the information and appreciate your help. I’m quite motivated to lose some pounds and be more physically flexible. Early next year, my hubby and I will be taking our first overseas trip — ever.
                I’ve been on my quest for almost 3 weeks and have met my benchmarks so far. I think this is where the hard part begins. 🙂

                • No probs Yvonne,

                  I’m really pleased you enjoyed the article(s) – you were kind enough to open up and share your example in the first place – I hope all goes well. I know things can be particularly difficult when traveling – don’t be too hard on yourself if you waver, just keep moving in the right direction!

                  let me know if there’s anything at all I can help with (feel free to drop me a mail too if you like as you’re on our list) and if I can help, I will.

  7. Hi Alan,

    It’s a fact that habits have a lot to do with success. Many people don’t realize that most successful people have just different habits then them. That’s all.

    For example, a smoker, smokes most of the time if not ALL the time out of pure habit. They have not even got to that nicotine urge yet, but they are going to light up that cigarette out of pure habit.

    If habits work for negative results, such as smoking, it works just as well with positive ones. Taking good habits will results in overall more positive results.

    • Hi Sylviane,

      you’re absolutely right – habits are very powerful things – for ‘good’ or ‘bad’,

      I’m glad you liked the article,

      thanks for commenting,

      Alan

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