With the New Year fast approaching, it seems that new habits are a good thing to chat about. Of course, I am otherwise quite intrigued by the concepts of habits, perspective, and reality. With Ted Talks, a wealth of online seminars, books, etc. etc. there are so many perspectives and viewpoints – and of course, my nerd within can’t resist!
So here are some of my fav ideas:
First, to set the stage – a thought from Maya Angelou,
“A solitary fantasy can transform a million realities.”
From Eben Pagan and his Wake Up Productive program:
Eben is one of my favorite online business gurus. One of his most popular courses isWake Up Productive (I’ll get a link and provide it later.) Eben describes the process of creating a new habit as the process of defying Habit Gravity and creating an Escape Velocity so that you can in turn enjoy… (I’ll keep the metaphor going) a new atmosphere of a life with a new and now well integrated habit.
Eben sets his metaphor by considering the 3 launch phases of a space shuttle. Each phase in the new habit process is 10 days – each fueled by awareness and will power.
Phase I: Defying the gravity of existing habits – the first 10 days
Reflecting on the launch of the space shuttle, Eben notes that the first phase is perhaps the most intense. For example, an actual space shuttle, during the first launch phase, burns 80% of its fuel – all to defy the pull of gravity and set its new trajectory.
Equating Phase I of creating a new habit to the rocket’s first launch phase, we similarly have to intensify our efforts to defy the gravity of our existing habits. In other words, if we’re not diligent and determined, it’s very easy for the gravity of existing habits to thwart our internal determination (thrust) to achieve a new habit and in turn, pull us back into our current habits.
Phase II: Resistance
The good news is that by reaching Phase II, you realize that you’ve made it beyond the most “difficult” 1st phase of establishing a new habit & so you won’t need to continue to burn “your fuel” with the same intensity. Yet, persistence remains important to defying the gravity of our existing habits.
Phase III: Acclimatization – Yea! You made it! You’re well into the habit changing process . At this point, your habit is feeling more natural and even dare we say, a part of the “new you.”
I love Eben’s metaphor, however, I think that there are additional & critical phases.
Christine’s Phase IV: Self-Integration
Because of the way our brains work, stories fuel our world. Our memories, arguably, are the stories that we tell ourselves about the circumstances of our lives. We use stories to understand everything about our world and ourselves. And our most potent stories are the ones that are stoked with emotion and portray meaning for ourselves and our lives.
Our internal stories define who we are – how we see ourselves – why we do the things we do – why things happen to us, etc. etc.
And because stories are so powerful and so integral to who we are, I think that the next critical phase is to change the story that we tell ourselves about ourselves in the context of our new habit.
Stories, as it turns out, are also a nice way to integrate the rational upper and sub-conscious emotion-based lower parts of the brain.
Christine’s Phase V: Celebratory Emotion & Your Own Victory Dance
My final phase is celebratory emotion and your own victory dance. Emotion seals the deal…so to speak…and Your Own Victory dance integrates emotion, the body, your psychology, and ultimately your new personalized self story laced with your new habits.
The foundations of this opinion are as follows:
1. Research indicates that life experiences that are spiked with adrenaline effectively sear the neuronal paths in the brain and the body. Emotion ingrains life circumstances into our brain and body.
2. The brain has (2) primary modes
– Approach and
– Withdrawal
3. Celebratory emotion reinforces the tendency to continuously approach and maintain the new habit as a part of your life.
4. Your own victory dance integrates emotion and takes it to the level of activating your reward system.
5. Activating your internal reward system releases dopamine – which again reinforces the new habit and can even make it more addictive – and serotonin which reinforces how “good you feel” about your new habit.
Have a Great Week!
Here’s to Exciting New Habits and Preferred Realities!
