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Hey everyone, short letter today, quick life hack that can really help you.
I stole this from the book "Atomic Habits” - definitely worth checking out.
Also, I’ve tested this in my own life, so I can 100% attest to it working.
Okay, so you want to start a new habit? Great!
Easier said than done right?
We’ve all put off going to the gym one too many times..
Or eaten that ice cream that we’re not supposed to :)
Stop thinking about all the times you’ve failed, and right now…
Think of all the habits you ALREADY HAVE!
I mean, the ones that are SET IN STONE.
For example:
Every day before you get out of bed you check twitter, email, facebook, in that order, and then get up.
Every day before you go to bed you brush your teeth, take out your contacts
Every day around lunch time you do x…
You get the idea.
NOW, here’s the SECRET, the big HACK.
Just stack your NEW habit ON TOP of the one you ALREADY HAVE.
“huh? Stack?”
Yes, just use that old habit as a TRIGGER for the new habit.
For instance, let’s say you eat lunch at the same time every day, but you really want to workout every day as well.
(Hint, this was me)
So, I sat there and just rehearsed it in my mind. The actual STEPS that would transition me from my OLD HABIT to my NEW HABIT.
I pictured myself walking down the stairs at noon…
Walking over to the fridge…
Just about to open it…
And BOOM, now, instead of opening it and continuing to eat lunch, I instead pull out my phone, throw on a workout video on youtube, and just start working out, right there and then in my living room.
It really is as easy as that.
Try it with something that is a SOLID HABIT, and make sure you have EASY, LOW RESISTANCE TRIGGER POINTS.
GOOD =
You watch TV every night. Every time there is a commercial you get up and do 10 pushups.
BAD =
You watch TV every night. You refuse to watch TV all together and run 6 miles instead.
GOOD =
Your wife/husband cooks you dinner frequently. As soon as they place the plate in front of you you LAVISH praise on them like a crazy person.
BAD =
Your wife/husband cooks you dinner frequently. You decide that you should cook instead to be a servant. You try it once and fail miserably and go back to your old habit.
Get it? It’s just little tweaks like this, where you use memory to your ADVANTAGE.
Use the habits you ALREADY HAVE to STRENGTHEN the new habits you WANT TO BUILD.
Just be careful, this works REALLY WELL, so don’t start any habits you don’t want :)
Kale
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