![]() ![]() One of the reasons why habits have such a force over us is, is because ‘desire’ in our brains has a lot more weight than ‘liking’ something. The addition of craving might seem like a subtle change but is a crucial one. James Clear identifies a simple four-step pattern as the backbone of every habit (it’s a variation of the more commonly known three step process of ‘cue, routine, reward’ defined by Charles Duhigg in ‘ The Power of Habit’): There are however a number of key stages or pattern that are important to understand. Repeat this a number a times and voilà… The longer and more often you repeat that action the more engrained and automated it will become. Once you have found a good solution to a problem, the next time you encounter the same or very similar problem you will most likely attempt to solve the same problem in the same way, thus starting to form a habit. Habits are essentially shortcuts based on experience. ![]() This might seem like an odd question to ask half way through this article, but to change habits it’s important to really understand how they work. The reason why it’s easier to change habits in a new environment is that you are disrupted already so you are more open to something new (or you want change because you’re entering a new decade, some very interesting stats on that topic if you do some research). So all the advice you were open to when you were having your first child… when number two comes along you probably think you know better and will ignore much of any new advice given. Interestingly, the second time round it’s very difficult to change your mind. There are a number of conditions or occasions when this is easier: when you undergo significant changes in your life (move house, have your first baby, change jobs, turn something with a 9) you are much more receptive to form a new habit. Now, this can be much more difficult than you think. Richard Shotton has a lot to say on the topic of habits, because every time you’re trying to introduce a new product or trying to get someone to buy your product instead of a competitor, or if you’re trying to teach your colleagues new tricks you are essentially trying to change their behaviour (or their habits). The personal aspect of habits aside, habits are incredibly important in marketing and communication. It’s only once we embrace who we want to be (rather than who think we are) that we are primed to make some serious changes when it comes to habits. They can define us in either a positive or negative way, for instance, if you believe you’re rubbish at maths or you think of yourself as a smoker it can be very difficult to change your behaviour. What was particularly interesting is that habits are intrinsically linked to your identity. Habits define who we are, how we are perceived by our friends and family and whether we ultimately succeed at what is important to us. In fact research suggests that if you improve by just 1 percent each day, you’ll end up with results nearly 37 times better after one year. Having too much to drink every day or taking the stairs every day might not seem like a big deal at the time but habits accumulate over time. And that trajectory is either one of success or failure. But the reason why it’s so crucial to understanding habits is that they set us on a trajectory. We probably brush our teeth a certain way, make coffee and have some toast every morning. But many of us aren’t even aware of the habits we’ve acquired over time. ![]() Having to change and move, is probably one of our habits. Some of them are so deeply ingrained in us that we aren’t even aware they exist. The main reason to pay attention to habits (whether you like them or not) is that well, first of all, we all have habits. I’m just going to leave this sentence hanging there a bit and let you google ‘compound’. ![]() Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. We all know the proverbial old dog that can’t be taught new tricks… or can it? Why habits matter Whether that’s the workforce of a 10,000 + organisation or getting consumers to choose a new or different product. A lot of our work is about changing habits. Which is why ‘Atomic habits’ by James Clear really resonated with us. And have you ever felt that it’s almost impossible to break a bad habit? The reality is that it’s really not easy to break old habits and create new, better ones. Some of us love following routines, others hate them. ![]()
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