#1103 Bad Habits
I was speaking with a coaching client about habits. He is trying to create a workout habit – an automatic behavior rather than relying on his willpower to overcome his natural, early morning dormancy when he wakes to face the world.
It’s a smart move. Willpower is overrated.
People Fail From Bad Habits, Not From Lack of Desire.
Waking up each day with a choice to work out or not is a formula for failure. We don’t decide to brush our teeth each day. It’s a habit. And, how nice is it that the toothpaste and toothbrush just happen to be right there at the bathroom sink, ready to use?
Habits and rules trump willpower every time. To create the workout habit, my client can’t face a choice each morning and, if he is inclined to work out, dig through his drawers to find his gear and show up at the gym with no idea what to do.
Instead, he needs to do a few things to ensure his success:
He has to create a rule. Just like he has a rule to brush his teeth every morning, he needs to make a rule that he hits the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
He needs to schedule those workouts in his calendar before the week begins.
On the eve of those workout days, he needs to put his gym gear out in a visible place.
It will become a habit if he does this for a month or two.
The chance of going to the gym increases tenfold when rules and habits reign. Faced with a choice, inertia can be hard to overcome, but rules and habits mitigate tough choices.
The exact process works for finding new businesses, getting client referrals, saving money, losing weight, learning a language, or mastering an instrument.
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