A little while ago I realised I was getting into a pretty deep rut that was going to turn into a bad habit if I didn’t do something about it.
It was during the beginning of the Covid-19 situation, and I found that I was starting to eat foods I normally avoided, watching more TV & wasting time playing games more than I should.).
Honestly, I was surprised at how fast it happened.
I think a LOT of us were sliding into not-so-productive behaviors then. I’m just grateful I realised it before it got out of hand!
Fact: Getting out of that rut was a LOT harder than I expected it to be, and I knew I had to get strategic and tactical about it.
Everything that was going on in my life at that point supported staying in the rut and doubling down … I’m talking about stress, extra time at home, you name it!
Here’s what I did to kick it:
I KNEW I had to make a radical change to remove the temptation.
For me, that meant shaking up my routine by getting really BUSY with something else, so there was no time or energy to get seduced back into my rut.
That meant I worked on a new program for my members, I started working more on myself by reading and watching content that was going to make me better at my craft and as a leader.
And do you know what? Once I got started, it wasn’t that bad at all. It was actually fun.
Plus, I had something to show for it.
In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear writes that one of the best ways to break a habit is to reduce exposure to temptations – removing anything that prompts you to do it.
Then, once those cues are gone, you can reframe your mindset by looking at the benefits of NOT doing the action. For me, that meant substituting other things that gave me tangible results!
It’s a pretty irresistible combo!