HOLMES PLACE MAG - STUCK IN A RUT? - 11
INSTEAD OF A CHECKLIST OF NEW HABITS, WHY NOT FOCUS ON BUILDING BETTER HABITS, INTEGRATING A NEW ONE EVERY MONTH? IT TURNS OUT THE CHECKLIST METHOD IS NOT WORKING FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE. PEDRO FERREIRA, INNOVATION MANAGER, TELLS US ALL WE NEED TO KNOW TO CHANGE - RIGHT NOW! I must confess that I have been struggling with habits for a long time. My curious nature leads me to want to do a million things at the same time. I want to improve myself, to accomplish more, to be healthier, happier, to live more. That has led me to scatter around goal-setting, action plans and resources to achieve my personal quests. I have come to realise that understanding and mastering habit-forming processes is key to personal achievements. I need a system. While looking for a framework to sustain my system, I took the Executive Master in Applied Positive Psychology and with new lenses, positive ones, I felt prepared and in sync with Viktor Frankl:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
We’ll also look at the importance of having a mission in life and that as we serve something bigger than ourselves, our happiness and success will follow. Self-control, often referred to as “self-regulation” is the answer. But there is more to it!
STEP BY STEP The “process of choosing may itself drain some of the self’s precious resources, thereby leaving the executive function less capable of carrying out its other activities. Decision fatigue can therefore impair self-regulation. Some degree of failure at self-regulation” is at the root of “most major personal and social problems”, such as debt, “underachievement at work and school” and lack of exercise” (a). Experiments have shown the interrelationship between decision fatigue and ego depletion, whereby a person’s ability for self-control against impulses decreases in the face of decision fatigue. The author responsible for the statement above,Baumeister, uses a muscle as a metaphor to describe self-regulation. So what are a few things that we know about muscles? 1 Muscles can be trained to get stronger over time 2 If weak, a muscle can be easily fatigued. So defining goals, action plans and implementing them while relying only on self-control can lead to disaster! Remember, checklists are built on a complete/incomplete principle, an all-or-nothing dichotomy. And once you fall off the wagon — whether it’s to eat a healthy breakfast every morning, or to maintain a clean inbox - the automatic gut reaction is that the “mission has been failed”. When the end goal is to complete the task, over and over again, there aren’t enough benchmarks to measure progress. And once it’s been marked as a failure, it’s easy to fall into a dejected mind-set of, “oh well, guess we’ll have to try again next time, …, next year.” If self-regulation is a muscle, I have two keywords: Training Plan - defining a routine, and repeating the routine to build your muscles! Or as Aristotle´s (n.d.) states: “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”. In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg makes the compelling argument that the key to “achieving success is understanding how habits work. The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.
Four common myths about creating habits Why is it difficult to commit to our resolutions such as exercising, eating healthier, learning a new skill, or even improving a relationship?
HOLMES PLACE MAG - STUCK IN A RUT? - 14
Five Traits of Habit Warriors Amazon bestselling author and top-ranked blogger Barrie Davenport shows you exactly how to get a clear mind and to stay committed to achieve what you want this year - and for a lifetime. You can buy it here:
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Trickle Down Mindset: The Missing Element in Your Personal Success. In Michal’s book, he deep-dives into the importance of having a personal philosophy and how it can help you achieve success. (He defines success as achieving your goals, not necessarily making piles of money.) You can buy the Kindle Edition for free. Check here
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Bad Habits No More: 25 Steps to Break ANY Bad Habit. The author, S.J. Scott, shares a “Commit to a 30-Day Habit Challenge”. There’s conflicting information about how long it takes to make a lasting habit change. Many people believe it takes 21 days, but a study by PhillippaLally and her research team showed it takes 66 days to create a brand-new routine. Scott’s opinion: it takes a least a month to break a bad habit, so a great way to get started is to commit to a 30-day habit challenge (30DHC). Download here
HOLMES PLACE MAG - DEPRESSION - 15
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
1
10’ walk +3’ run +10’ walk +3’ run +10’ walk +3’ run
Rest
10’ walk +3’ run +10’ walk +3’ run +10’ walk +3’ run
Rest
10’ walk +3’ run +10’ walk +4’ run +10’ walk +3’ run
Rest
Rest
TOTAL
30’ walk +9’ run
-
30’ walk +10’ run
-
30’ walk +10’ run
-
-
2
10’ walk +5’ run +10’ walk +5’ run +10’ walk +2’ run
Rest
10’ walk +5’ run +10’ walk +4’ run +10’ walk +5’ run
Rest
10’ walk +5’ run +10’ walk +4’ run +10’ walk +5’ run
Rest
Rest
TOTAL
32’ walk +12’ run
-
32’ walk +14’ run
-
30’ walk +14’ run
-
-
3
5’ walk +8’ run +3’ walk +10’ run +2’ walk +10’ run
Rest
3’ walk +10’ run +3’ walk +10’ run +3’ walk +15’ run
Rest
3’ walk +10’ run +2’ walk +15’ run +2’ walk +15’ run
Rest
Rest
TOTAL
10’ walk +28’ run
-
9’ walk +35’ run
-
7’ walk +40’ run
-
-
4
3’ walk +20’ run +2’ walk +20’ run
Rest
3’ walk +10’ run +1’ walk +30’ run
Rest
3’ walk +40’ run
Rest
Rest
TOTAL
5’ walk +40’ run
-
4’ walk +40’ run
-
3’ walk +40’ run
-
-
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Research suggests that daily exercise and listing off all the things you are thankful for are linked with a greater sense of positivity and can boost your well-being.
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Four good times of the day to meditate (And one to avoid) Expert advice on when to meditate, and when not to. View in iTunes and download app
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My Meditation Station My Meditation Station. Stressed? Need some focus or perhaps some soothing stillness? Just press play and listen to this free podcast. These regular meditations are designed to turn your desires into reality and calm some of the craziness. View in iTunes and download app
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