Change begins at the end of your comfort zone.
Roy T Bennett said it best. In order to change, we need to move outside our comfort zone. Yes, it’s tough. But, to add another quote, if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got. Time to make that change. Move outside that comfort zone! In this Blog, I show you the process of making change and making it stick.
So, you have decided you need to set some new good habits and get rid of some bad habits? Easy, right? Well, true. It’s EASY to set new habits but much harder to make them stick and turn them into permanent, strong habits. Well, with the help of Michelle McQuaid and BJ Fogg, I’m going to share with you a way of making that new good habit, stick!
Professor BJ Fogg is a Social Scientist at Stanford University and is the founder and director of the Behaviour Design Lab. Check out his book ‘Tiny Habits. The Small Changes That Change Everything.’. Dr Michelle McQuaid is an Australian Wellbeing Researcher, Playful Change Activator, Leadership Coach and Learning Content Creator. BJ Fogg developed, after much research, a model of change when he discovered that change happens from three specific things happening at the same time. Michelle teaches this model and has made it come alive. Check out her website for a plethora of resources!
BJ Fogg’s model is:
B = MAP
Behaviour – happens when – Motivation & Ability & Prompts converge at the same moment.
Motivation is your desire to do the behaviour
Ability is your capacity to do the behaviour
Prompt is your cue to do the behaviour
BJ Fogg believes that what brings us unstuck with creating new habits can be judging ourselves too harshly, aiming too high or expecting total perfection. Doing this could lead to failure!
Keeping changes small and expectations low, BJ Fogg found that you can more likely be successful, with longer lasting habits. Small changes can lead to larger changes, so improving 1% each day, you will have improved by 365%! How good!
Here is BJ’s 7 steps to creating those tiny changes
1. Clarify your aspirations
What is it that you want to improve your wellbeing? Spend more time with friends, use your strengths more, save more money, be kinder to people at work and at home, make time for yourself?
What change do you really want to create? What result do you want to achieve? Write down these ideas.
When I first tried this process, I wrote “In my work every day I am expected to ‘Step Up’ and I want to devise a specific time to ‘stand down’ in order to recover in preparation for tomorrow.
2. Explore Behaviour Options
Consider all your possible options to make your aspirations real. Be as creative as possible. A mind map or brain dump is best.
I wrote things like: Meditate, Go somewhere quiet at home and sit alone,with a cup of tea, read, visit a friend, Tai Chi, Phone a friend, Go for a walk etc.
3. Match With Specific Behaviours
Look at each of your mentioned behaviours. Which is hard to do, which is easy? Which do you want to do and which do you feel you have to do? The sweet spot is that which is easy to do AND that you want to do. Consider how much you want to do this behaviour (this is your motivation). How easy will it be for you to do this behaviour (your ability)?
Select 1, 2 or 3 that you consider easy to do and that you want to do. These are your “Golden Behaviours” because they are the sweet spot where your motivation and ability will have the greatest impact.
If you don’t have any behaviours that are both easy and you want to do, then break down the behaviours that you DO have into smaller behaviours or keep brainstorming until you do.
4. Start Tiny
BJ Fogg’s research found that the smaller the habit, is a foolproof way to create change easily. You can start tiny by focusing on a start step – one small move towards the desired behaviour, like putting your sneakers on to go for a run – or y scaling back – shrinking the behaviour, like running for 30 seconds.
Simply ask yourself “What will make my golden behaviour hard to do?”
Do you have enough time?
Do you have enough money?
Are you physically capable of doing the behaviour?
Do you have the creative or mental energy needed for this behaviour?
Does it fit into your current routine?
Then ask “How can I make this behaviour easier to do? What starter step or scaled-back approach to my golden behaviour will set me up for success?” Write your tiny behaviour down.
Making your behaviour easy to do not only helps it to take root so it can grow big, but also helps you hang on to it when the going gets tough. Your goal is not perfection; your goal is to keep the behaviour alive consistently.
5. Find a Good Prompt
No behaviour happens without a prompt to nudge us into action. An effective way to create a prompt is to anchor your starter step or scale back behaviour to come after an existing habit you have already established.
Make a list of all the habits that already fill your day, for example, getting out of bed, traveling into work, getting more coffee, packing up to go home etc.
Pick one existing habit from your list that you never forget to do, that would provide a reliable and sensible anchor for the starter step or scaled back behaviour you have chosen to follow. Your goal is to flow seamlessly from your existing habit into your new habit, so it requires as little physical and mental energy as possible.
6. Celebrate Success
Celebration of success is a powerful catalyst for change. It turns out that it is not repetition, but emotions – particularly the feeling of celebration your progress – that builds your wellbeing habits. Take a moment to reflect on what you do when you feel really happy and successful – do you smile, shout “Oh Yeah!”, mentally pat yourself on the back or take a victory lap?
This might feel a bit weird at first but don’t be fooled, celebrating your progress lights up your brain’s reward system, which reinforces your desired behaviours.
7. Troubleshoot, Iterate & Expand
Use the habit recipe card below to help you and remind you each day. Sometimes these changes happen quickly. Other times they may need tweaking eg try a different anchor, behaviour or celebration. When you have established consistency, build on the behaviour or revisit your behaviour options and create new habits.
My Tiny Habit Recipe
Anchor Moment
An existing routine in your life that will remind you to do the Tiny Behaviour (your old habit)
After I ………………… (old habit)
Tiny Behaviour
The new habit you want but you scale it back to be super tiny – and super easy.
I will …………….. (new habit)
Celebration
Something you do to create a positive feeling inside of yourself (the feeling is called “Shine”)
Then, I will celebrate by ……………….. (shine)
Good luck!
For more information, check out BJ Fogg’s information here: https://tinyhabits.com and also check out Michelle McQuaid’s website, which is full of resources and fantastic information. Check it out here: https://www.michellemcquaid.com
If you want help to navigate your new change, get in touch.