The Secret of Successful Habit Change

Like many people, I’m always striving to get to—and maintain—a healthy weight. And I realized that several different things need to go on:

1. Drinking a good amount of water.
2. Exercise
3. Healthy food

There are other things, but I’m not discussing diet philosophy in this post.

A little background: I sometimes work in the office I have upstairs. Other times, I take my computer to a different room to have a little variety. Total, I have four rooms where I may work: two upstairs and two downstairs.

I drink lots of water daily. Using a water drinking app helps! The filtered water is downstairs. And here’s the problem: when I go downstairs to refill my glass, I often get something to eat…and it’s not always something healthy. You may say, “Well, Janice, why don’t you just take extra water upstairs; then you wouldn’t have to go downstairs.” The problem: then I don’t get in as many daily steps, which is also something I track.

One day, I had a flash of insight! I said to myself, “You know what I need to do is decide at the top of the stairs what I’m going down for—actually say it out loud to myself.” I might say out loud, “I’m just going downstairs to get water,” or I could state, “I’m going downstairs to get water and to do some task,” or I may say, “I’m going downstairs to get some water and eat lunch.” But what I am not saying is, “I’m going downstairs and then I’m going to get some chocolate.”

Now, you may think I’m a little bit crazy. (And I am ?) However, I bring this up because honestly, my saying “Okay, I’m only going down for water” aloud has been very helpful. Then I get the water and go back upstairs.

Yes, I realize this doesn’t help when I’m already downstairs. However, once I’m consistent with “upstairs water consumption,” I can experiment with strategies for “drinking water without snacking” while downstairs.

Why am I giving you these details? Because awareness is a huge piece of habit change!

Yet there’s no one way to become aware or to even act on an awareness. Now you’re wondering, “Well that’s great, but how am I going to remember at the top of the stairs?” I’m not going to actually address the “when and how” because the answer is different for everyone. Hint: a good coach can help. ? I will give give other examples. I hope they spark a new realization for you.

Example: Exercise

Many people want to start or increase their exercise routine. They get gung-ho and think, “Yes! I’m gonna do it, I’m going to start (or increase) exercising. They’ll say it to themselves before they go to bed: “Yep, gotta get up, going to exercise first thing!” Yet they get up in the morning, they don’t do it.

There are several different places where awareness could be really helpful here.

• Some people might recognize: “Oh, I need to have clothes ready. I need to pick those out the night before, and maybe even have them somewhere that I’ll almost trip over them. Then I’ll remember to put them on and go exercise.”
• Others may be motivated by a specific plan: “Tomorrow I am going to walk and I’m going to take this route.”

Example: Work

Business owners or providers in a self-care and service-based industry want to serve their clients in a timely fashion.

Let’s say that a graphic design artist recognizes: “if a client gives me too much or unclear information, I get paralyzed trying to figure out the best way to respond.” This is certainly not a way to keep clients happy!

So the graphic designer does some problem-solving and realizes “if I have a specific form that people fill out so that they’re giving me limited information, such as three ideas instead of five, I’ll be more successful at drafting possible designs for them.”

Alternatively, the designer might change their client contract to reflect specific expectations regarding how many rounds of editing are permitted and whether or not it is best to communicate by email, text or by hot air balloon (but that usually is not very helpful.?

Since these examples started with awareness’s that came seemingly out-of-the-blue, what happens if you’re not even aware of what you’re not aware of? Then it’s time for curiosity.

Start with a habit you’ve been trying to form or change. Think about, write down, mind map, or whatever format will help you consider the methods you’ve tried thus far, plus what has and hasn’t worked. Ask yourself:

• Where do I get stuck?
• What strategy can I try to move forward?
• What’s the smallest next step I can take?
• Who can I enlist to help me with this habit?

This will increase the awareness you need for habit change.

I’d love to say that there are three ways to gain awareness or five steps to take for perfect habit formation. That’s how I’m wired and what I like. It’s unfortunate, yet exciting, that because of how our brains are wired, our personalities, our situations—there’s not one answer; there’s a combination of answers.

And habits can change over time given life transitions. For example, a habit that worked before COVID, may not have continued during COVID. That’s where awareness comes in, “I know life is changing and I need to make some adjustments.”

Feel stuck in a habit that keeps you disorganized or unproductive? Time to schedule an exploratory discussion to see if my Overwhelm Slayer Coaching Program™ would help you shift to more productive and organized habits. Phone/text at 919-467-7058 or email: admin@JaniceRussell.com.