Tag Archives: habits

“A bad habit never goes away by itself: it’s always an ‘undo-it-yourself’ project.”

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“A bad habit never goes away by itself: it’s always an ‘undo-it-yourself’ project.”

– Abigail Van Buren, founder of the “Dear Abby” column

Many researchers would say that we are our habits. All we need to do is observe the over 95% failure rate of New Year’s resolutions to see how entrenched they are. Depending on your age, you have 20, 30, 40 or more years of practice engaging in these bad habits – no wonder they seem so resistant to change.

Exercise:

Begin your “undo-it-yourself “project by replacing a bad habit with a good one, using the following 4 steps:

Step 1: Select a bad habit you wish to break which is keeping you from a high-priority goal.
Step 2: Identify the new habit you desire by observing individuals who’ve achieved this goal.
Step 3: List the exact behaviors they consistently engage in and copy their effort as closely as possible for at least 3 weeks
Step 4: Enlist additional social and structural support to ensure your success.

Feel free to get back to me and let me know what you were able to achieve, by replying to this email.

“Do your little bit of good wherever you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

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“Do your little bit of good wherever you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

—Desmond Tutu, South African bishop and opponent of apartheid

I have recently finished reading the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. One of the ideas he points out as a way to generate individual and organizational habits that lead to greater success is to focus on “small wins.”

Too often we glamorize only the big wins – you know, those “superbowl” sized accomplishments that are highlighted in the media – without recognizing all those little steps along the way.

Exercise:

Develop a “little bit of good” journal, scoreboard or notebook to capture all the ways you can and do make the world a better place.

Create a separate section to capture all the little bits of good others do for you.

Imagine the possibilities of seven billion people doing this exercise!

#84: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

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– Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States

I like bargains and two-for-one sales. This quote is a three-for-one! In Ben Franklin’s time, the word “vices” perhaps meant “behaviors that do not better oneself or another.” Today, I suggest we consider the word “habits” instead.

The idea of being a better person points to our ability to learn, grow, and improve as individuals.

Exercise:

What habits/vices will you declare war upon? Which relationships in your life are ones where you will make a stand for peace? In what ways do you intend to be a better person next year, versus today?

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#48: “It’s not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong…”

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“… not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess but what we practice that gives us integrity.”

– Francis Bacon, philosopher

Stickiness and sustainability are words that describe an enduring quality of something. A good example of the lack of stickiness is a New Year’s resolution: at least 90% of resolutions fail.

What factors help us digest, save and remember the important lessons to make our intentions truly stick? The literature seems to lead us towards the development of habits as a key to sustainability.

Through consistent application of practices and lessons, we develop the muscle memory to incorporate these ideas and behaviors into our DNA. The things we consciously want become unconsciously incorporated into our very being.

Exercise:

What two or three habits would make the biggest difference in your life? How could you take action to develop these over the next three – six months?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.