The Power of Habit #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published five years ago:

That's the title of a book by Charles Duhigg. It's a very interesting book on how people create new habits or replace old ones. You really can't totally eliminate old habits, but you can replace existing ones.

Habits are based on a cue, activity, rewards system. Existing habits already have these defined. You receive some kind of cue, you do an activity without really thinking about it (the habit) and you receive some kind of reward. All three pieces are important. To change a habit you need to figure out what those three pieces are and to change the activity. There are several examples in the book and there are flowcharts on the website that show how to create or change habits.

Creating a new habit is similar, but you start with the activity, figure out what you will use as a trigger and what your reward will be.

There's a TED Talk that says basically that you can do anything for 30 days:

Conventional wisdom says it takes 21 days to create a habit but it's loosely based on an observation that it takes AT LEAST 21 days to create a habit. It may take 30 days to create a habit but it will probably take more. But try something for 30 days and you may be well on your way to creating a new habit...which is why 30 day challenges are so popular, whether it's my 30 day beard growing challenge:

Honestly, this one hasn't been too difficult. Or it may be this 30 day challenge that I'm starting on September 1st:

Now this one will require a bit more effort. To make it a habit I will need to add a cue and a reward. I think I will do mine first thing when I get up, but I won't use my alarm for a cue...I already have a habit of dragging my butt out of bed (I still haven't figured out what the reward is!). I will set another alarm 30 minutes later so I can read my email and check Facebook. This alarm will actually serve two purposes: to remind me to do the plank and to limit the amount of time I spend doing the other activities. What will my reward be? I don't know yet. It might just be the satisfaction of completing the challenge...after the 30 days is up I may need a new reward.

Often changing one habit or adding one new one has a cascading effect...many other habits are added or changed. The one habit is called a keystone habit.

So, let's kick September off with a 30 Day Plank Challenge and see if we can turn that into a new habit...maybe even a keystone habit! Who's with me?

Although I've read several times that it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit. I figured that's kind of a strange number, but then I realized it's two thirds of the way to 100 days, So if you do something for 100 days, then by the time you get two thirds of the way there, you should have a new habit. Just don't give up at 66 days, but keep going!

I found that doing a 90 day challenge is the best way to create a new habit...or break an old one. I tried several 30 day challenges to quit drinking soda and I ended up like the guy in the video at day 31 of giving up sugar. But a 90 day challenge worked!

Interesting days

Today - International Bat Night, Burger Day, Banana Lovers Day, Pots De Creme Day, Petroleum Day, Tug-of-War Day and The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day
Tomorrow - Bow Tie Day, Daffodil Day, Cherry Turnover Day, Crackers Over The Keyboard Day, Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, Radio Commercials Day and Race Your Mouse Around The Icons Day

Next Thursday - Welsh Rarebit Day and Skyscraper Day

September 27 - Crush a Can Day, Rivers Day, Corned Beef Hash Day, Morning Show Hosts Day, Ancestor Appreciation Day and Tourism Day

Month long celebrations:

September 15 - October 15: Hispanic Heritage Month