You’ve tried over and over to create a new habit, whether it’s related to losing weight, becoming more productive, or just putting the dishes in the dishwasher after a meal. But nothing works, so you simply give up. You decide you are the type of person who has no motivation and can’t follow through. In your eyes, something is wrong with you – you just don’t have the motivation gene.
I’ll let you in on a little secret.
It’s not you!
Researcher and author BJ Fogg says three things are needed in order to create a habit: motivation, ability, and prompt. In my recent blog, What if it’s the “Process” and Not Motivation That’s Keeping You From Creating New Habits?, I talk about motivation and ability and how they work together. (If you haven’t read it, check it out here). Today, I want to talk about the “prompt”.
A prompt is a cue that causes you to perform a certain behavior. You must have a prompt in order to take an action. For example, you walk into a dark room and turn on the light. The prompt to take action is the dark room. The traffic light turns red and you stop. The red traffic light is the prompt. You see a commercial for a pizza and you pick up the phone to place a pizza order. Yep – the commercial is the prompt to take action.
Without a prompt, we have no reason to act. A prompt, or cue, is necessary for all types of behaviors -- those actions society has labeled as “good behaviors” (like drinking our daily goal of water), those labeled as “bad behaviors” (like eating a pint of ice cream), and those behaviors we view as more neutral (like flipping on the light switch).
It’s important to remember that when we want to change our behavior, we must add a prompt if we want to add the behavior (or take away the prompt if we want to remove the behavior).
Fogg identified a brilliant way to create a prompt from actions that are already consistent in our lives. We simply identify a behavior that is fixed into our routine and insert a habit after that behavior.
Here’s a “recipe” to help you get started:
After I (existing routine), I will (new habit you want).
For example, each morning, I turn on my hot water kettle to make tea. So now, after I press the button on my hot water kettle, I close my eyes and take 3 deep breaths. (Then I celebrate and I’ll save this important step for a future blog.)
Here are some examples of recipes, which may further help in explaining this concept:
· After my feet hit the floor in the morning, I will say “It’s going to be a great day.” (This is one of Fogg’s favorites.)
· After I start the coffeemaker, I will do one push-up against the wall.
· After I turn on the shower, I will find one thing I like about my body. (Do you struggle with this one? Your body has an amazing ability to do so many things. It can heal a cut, get you from one spot to another, allow you to work, to play, to breathe, to think, to use nutrients for cell repair and energy, and so much more. Our bodies are amazing! Try choosing something your body can do, not necessarily how it looks.)
· After I pull in a parking lot, I will choose a space far from the door (to allow me to get more steps!).
· After I hang up the phone from a stressful call, I will close my eyes and take three deep breaths.
· After I put my dishes in the dishwasher, I will wipe off the counter.
· After I put the kids to bed, I will send one encouraging text to someone.
· After I get in bed, I will read one scripture.
“Debbie”, you say, “I notice some of these things are ridiculously small. Do one pushup against the wall? How can that possibly help?” Great question. That’s the beauty of the Tiny Habit method. I’ll talk about why small actions work in a future blog. For now, make your action so small that you’ll do it even if you don’t feel like it. We are trying to create the habit. Interestingly, when done correctly, it will “maximize” on it’s own!
Take a minute now to write down three recipes you’d like to try this week. Then practice them a few times to get out all the kinks. For example, your recipe might be “After I turn on the coffee pot, I will write one thing I’m grateful for.” Once you practice, you might find it’s best if you have a journal or notebook specifically for that purpose and you put it, along with a pen, beside the coffee pot. If you have to go searching for paper and pen, you likely won’t follow through.
Let me know what three habits you decide to create and what recipes you decide to try. I’d love to hear from you.
Here’s to your health!
