
The actions we take on a day to day basis decides our future and shape who we become.
A significant aspect of how I work with clients is understanding behaviour science and using coaching tools to support clients with building new habits they wish to establish in order to work towards their health goals. In my first two years of practice as a naturopath and nutritionist, I realised that having the knowledge of WHAT clients needed to do to work towards their health goals was not enough. I needed to learn how to better support HOW they were going to do this. I've spent the last year and a half doing a deep dive in behaviour science and am really excited to share what I've learned with my clients.
Let's first start by understanding what habits are...
Habits make up a huge proportion of our daily lives A habit is an established/frequent behaviour often performed in the same setting and same way. It is guided by a cue or trigger and does not require much thought or attention (e.g. more ‘automatic’). Once formed, habits actually shift to a more primitive part of the brain, freeing up more cognitive space - this is why once formed, habits can be difficult to change.
There is a HUGE gulf between the intention of doing something and actually doing it. In behaviour science, this is called the ‘Intention-Action gap’. For example, most adults know that exercise is good for them and would like to do more, yet studies suggest that between 36% to 55% of people never manage to convert intention into action.
How habits are formed:
Cue/Trigger - Some context that is stable. For example, making coffee might be cued by a particular time of day (waking up/morning), the kettle, or being in an environment as a whole (cafe), a preceding behaviour (switching on the kettle), or even a person or sound (alarm clock). Setting up your environment can be really helpful for developing a new habit - perhaps having your running shoes by the door or a gym bag ready.
Repetition - for a behaviour to become a habit, it needs to be performed frequently and repeated many times. Assuming that a behaviour is performed regularly - at least a few times a week. Research suggests anywhere between 18 days and 254 days to embed a new habit - it varies!
Rewards - all behaviour is functional and serves some sort of purpose - rewarding us in some way - rewards can be intrinsic or extrinsic, conscious or subconscious, physical or physiological, short term or long term, cumulative.
Six Strategies for building habits:
1. Ensure a stable, supportive environment - perhaps having your gym shoes visible by the door and a packed gym bag. Having a water bottle on counter. Stocking your fridge with veggies and emptying your pantry to cue eating more fresh food.
2. Leverage the context - this strategy is about using natural opportunities already existing. It can include - stacking/piggybacking on an existing habit or utilising a bold change in context like moving or a new life stage.
3. MAKE IT EASY TO DO - sooooo many of us jump into all or nothing thinking and often bite off more than we can chew leading to burn out. Identify and remove barriers - choose an action that is easy to do. For example, if wanting to do more exercise, you might start with wearing sport shoes and walking to work or even getting off a bus stop one or two stops earlier.
4. Develop cues and rewards - Develop a simple “If….then”….for example, if I wear my sport shoes and pack my work shoes, I can walk to and from work”. Having a mix of rewards is essential - immediate (you could have a tracking chart for example), long term (how will you celebrate this at the end of week/month? )
5. Practice and repeat and EXPECT resistance - new behaviours take time and to start, require more cognitive energy - therefore, it can be tiring and be met with resistance. This is normal. Planning and preparing for how you will respond to resistance is helpful. Knowing that you will have set backs is helpful.
6. Build meaning - knowing your why behind wanting to develop a new behaviour is important - it cultivates meaning and purpose.
Building new habits take time and can be challenging for all of us. Finding a support system is really important. Surround yourself with people that support your values, the habits you want to build, and the person you want to become.
If you feel you need more support, find a coach to support you.
Comments