When advising friends or loved ones about life, the universe, and everything, we often brim with wisdom…. But why, then, do we find it so hard to follow our own (good) advice?
These three tips will help you build trust in yourself.
Habit stacking
Habit stacking uses fully formed customs to habituate new behaviours. It’s hijacking the same process that triggers handwashing in the bathroom or using seatbelts in the car. For example: to add extra movement to your day, you could try going for a walk after loading the dishwasher at night, swapping your desk for the promenade during lunch break, or work in a brisk walk around the block as soon as you wake up in the morning.
Create go-to rules
‘Heuristics’ or ‘rules of thumb’ can help eliminate decision-making processes that make it easy to talk yourself in or out of something. Saving? Try ‘if an item is $30+ I’ll think about it for a week’ as a rule. Or if a second dinner serving is calling, try ‘always wait 15 minutes before seconds.’
Do a tiny thing
If you’re daunted by a task or prone to procrastination – just do a tiny thing. It could be as simple as writing the opening sentence of your book or driving to the gym. Starting with something small will give you an easy win and can snowball into doing more.
WORDS: Alegria Alano
