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Create any habit you ever wanted

A Frame Work To Create Any Habit 
Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could just achieve anything that you wanted without even thinking about it? 
That is the Power OF Habits! 
 the-power-of-habit
The resource that we have used to help bring ypoour this information today is the book “The Power Of Habit” by Charles Duhigg If you are interested in further reading of this resource his
website is here ===>>> http://charlesduhigg.com
Firstly I want to introduce the habit loop: 
This is the cycle that we go through for both positive and negative habits, it starts with a cue, which triggers a routine and then delivers a reward.
 
habit-replacement
Cues – A cue is can be anything but typically falls into one of 5 different categories (below) and will initiate you to start doing your routine
  1. Location – where you are, or why you are at a certain place
  2. Time – so many of our routines are triggered by the time of the day – midday is lunch, get up at 6am, work until 5pm etc
  3. Emotion – Do your behaviours and habits change when you are; Stressed, anxious, angry, happy, loving, excited ? 
  4. Other People – The people you are around at any given time may initiate your habits. Who do you drink with? Who do you have a cigarette with? Who do you work out with? Who leaves you in a positive or a negative mood
  5. Previous action – One habit can often trigger a flow on of other habits. When you shower do you always do it at the same time? Do you wash yourself in the same order? Do you always brush your teeth once you get out of the shower? 
Routine – this is the actual thing that you are doing, the behaviour, the action, the location and situation you are in, how you feel all of it!
Reward – This is what YOU get out of doing the routine.  This may be, energy for something sugary you ate, this may be 5 minutes of piece and quiet by stepping out of a room, this may be the cool fresh clean feeling you get from brushing your teeth, or the human connection you get by hanging out with friends.
The Frame work is broken down into 4 simple steps
  1. Identify the routine
  2. Experiment with rewards
  3. Isolate the cue
  4. Have a plan
Step 1: Identify the routine
Describe the routine that you want to change in full! For example if we are talking about a sugary snack in the afternoon your description would look like this –  At 3:20pm I get back from picking the kids up from school I go into the pantry, I get either chocolate or biscuits off the top shelf, I normally feeling a little tired and stressed at this time of day and it gives me 5 minutes to wind down with the snack and a cup of tea. after my 10 minutes i feel calm and refreshed and i can start getting on with the day.
The more details you put in about the routine the easier it will be to understand the cues and rewards from the behaviour and the easier it will be to develop a plan to change it. I recommend taking at least 10minutes to think about every element of your routine no matter how insignificant it may seem.
Step 2: Experiment with rewards
Once you have a detailed description of what routine you want to change. We are now want to discover exactly what you are getting out of the routine that we want to change. This can be a number of things including, satisfying an emotion, changing your state, taking a break, looking for a energy surge etc. in our earlier example you can break it down by starting with a few different options.  1.  Put fruit in the pantry on the same shelf  (to see if hunger is the issue), 2. Go for a walk in a calm peaceful environment (to see if you just need some down time). 15 minutes after you have tried the new routine and tested the reward set an alarm to check in and write down how you are feeling. If you are still craving the old routine then you will need to try some different rewards until you find one that works for you. 
Step 3: Isolate the cue 
Take time to sit down and work out exactly what is triggering the behaviour, Is it the time on the clock, is it when you walk through the front door, is it when the kids start yelling and screaming, is it a rumble in your tummy, or a feeling of tiredness through out the day?
As mentioned before it will typically be one or a combination of  location, time, emotional state, people, or an action/event. Once you have worked out what cues the behaviour we can start to be mindful of our actions and implement the plan. 
 habit-flowchart2
Step 4: Have a plan
Once you have gone through the previous steps have a plan! write down exactly what is going to happen and when each day/week and be prepared to execute that plan. If you are looking at changing your dietary habits but you have bought the food the old habit will take over and you will not succeed. Your plan should be visible near your cue. this mean have a post it note on the clock or and alarm that goes off 10 minutes before you would typically engage in that behaviour.  Put a dot on the back of your hand to remind you of your goal constantly through out the day!
 
This frame work can help you achieve any of your goals. Be it wealth, relationships, health, productivity. Take your time in creating the plan and thinking through the routines that you want to change and describing then in absolute detail. Creating habits takes time and the amount of time varies between habits you will fail and learn then adjust before you succeed, but you will succeed with commitment, determination and consistency!
I am looking forward to hearing about your success and if you have any questions or are looking for some extra accountability please contact me tim@4ubodyfitness.com.au
Stay awesome
Tim Morgan,
4 U Body Fitness
Mobile Personal Training Specialists
Tim morgan
 

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