Hijacking Your Habits: Make Them Work For you
Learn how to hijack your already existing habits to make them work for you.
1 - Today I am Grateful for…
Morning time spent with family.
2 - Today’s Inspirational Quote
“You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than your current results.” — James Clear
3 - Hijacking Your Habits: Make Them Work For You
Make your habits work for you
I’d be willing to bet you could either
Benefit from better habits
Benefit from removing bad habits
In this short article, you’ll learn how to hijack your already existing habits to make them work for you.
Yes, I said “already existing”.
A habit is something that you do, well, habitually. Makes sense right?
Brush your teeth? There’s a habit
Make coffee every day? That’s another one.
Hit snooze? I’m 3 for 3!
With one simple trick, we can turn these ritualistic habits into transformational ones.
Habit Stacking
If you’ve ready “Atomic Habits” by James Clear you’ve likely heard of this.
It’s the art of compounding habits to turn what you already do into what you desire to do.
For example, referring to the above examples, you make coffee every day?
What if that was your reminder to read your book that’s been collecting dust for the past 6 months?
Hear me out.
Habit stacking is the process of using what you already do to easily implement what you want to do.
Put a note by your coffee maker that acts as your reminder to read. That will act as a quick reminder to read as your coffee brews as opposed to scrolling through social media.
Do you wish you’d wake up quickly in the morning?
Maybe brushing your teeth is your reminder to do 10 jumping jacks.
Want to be more productive?
How about when you sit on the couch you spend 10 minutes learning a new skill before you turn the TV on.
You see, you are already a creature of habit. But now we are going to turn you into a creature of productive habit.
Make It Easy
Building off of the aforementioned, let’s make it even easier.
Most people get really ambitious with their goals and their realistic vision is clouded *cough cough* New Years Resolutions.
I’m sure you have been a victim of it in the past… I know I have.
But not anymore.
The goal here? Make it so easy your grandma could do it.
I’m serious.
So you want to start exercising, huh?
You make it a goal for yourself to go to the gym every day for 1hr.
Sounds reasonable.
But it isn’t…
It’s reasonable when you are motivated, but when you’re not, it’s daunting as hell.
Here’s when you might say something like “but I’m determined to have the willpower to get it done”
Relying on willpower is a surefire way to lose. I want you to win.
And the recipe for success is making it as easy as possible.
So, back to your goal of exercising every day…
Tell yourself something like this...
“While my coffee is brewing in the morning I will put my exercise shoes on.”
Why does this work? Because you are lowering the barrier to entry.
Putting your shoes on is EASY. And once your shoes are on, you might as well go exercise.
Before you know it, you’ll be half asleep while your coffee is brewing and your running shoes are already on your feet ready to go.
That is what I like to call a habit.
Always remember that behind every ambitious act lies multiple small acts to get there. These are your bread and butter in not only getting started, but in maintaining momentum.
Actionable Takeaways
1 - Take a minute and identify 3 habits you already do, write them down.
2 - Then follow that up with 3 habits you would like to create and make them as simple as possible.
3 - Stack your desired habit with your already existing habits.
4 - Get moving!
Chat soon!
Dallen Reber