How to build habits in an easy way?
Habits are automated responses of our body that happens without the need for any motivation from our side. They build a mental tract so that we feel very comfortable doing them, whether it is brushing our teeth, waking up in the morning or watching television. We are a bunch of our habits, right!
Habits are the seeds for body memory, whereas thoughts are seeds at the level of mind. We always hear from most people about “WHAT” to do? But habits can help us on How to do ?. When we want to do something at the mind level, habits help us make that idea work out practically by turning thought into action.
Now let’s look at whats the experts take on building habits.
“Baby Steps” for behaviour change: BJ Fogg
Brian Jeffrey Fogg is an American social scientist currently a research associate at Stanford University and author.
After few years of experimentation with myself & friends, I have come across these 5 important tips to build habits in an easy & effective way.
- Starting very small like reading 1 para a day, Jogging 2 minutes a day, till the habit seed gets roots to grow. It’s called 2 MINUTE RULE, where we scale down habit to the level of what we can do in 2 minutes & do it consistently till it turns automatic help in the beginning. All we need is a small start.
- Practising it daily & tracking is important till the habit gets established using a habit tracker.
- Start working on 1 habit at a time.
- Identifying the triggers & stacking the habits after doing something which was already a habit for us, like after brushing teeth, after waking up etc. This is called HABIT STACKING.
- It’s easy to build habits in the right group in the beginning.
As our daily routine is packed with just some bunch of habits. The better the habits, the easier the life is. What are your favourite habits to be you wish to build in the next few months? Let me know in the comments section.
This is what James clear, Author of Atomic Habits, speaks about ” The 2 Minute Rule.”
SOURCES :
- BJ Fogg behavioural model.
Brian Jeffrey Fogg is an American social scientist currently a research associate at Stanford University and author. He is the founder and director of the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, later renamed Behavior Design Lab. - Atomic habits -James clear.
James Clear is an author, entrepreneur, and photographer in 25+ countries. JamesClear.com is the home of his writing and work. - The Art of learning, Josh Waitzkin.
Joshua Waitzkin is an American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life. - The Power of habit – Charles Duhigg.
Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer-prize winning American journalist and non-fiction author. He was a reporter for The New York Times and is the author of two books on habits and productivity, titled The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business and Smarter Faster Better