Habits – HabitHacks

Habits – HabitHacks https://blog.lift.do The power of small changes to make big results Fri, 13 Jan 2023 14:20:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 https://blog.lift.do/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/cropped-Screenshot-1-32x32.png Habits – HabitHacks https://blog.lift.do 32 32 The Most Inspiring Quotes From The 32 Best Self-Help Books of All Time https://blog.lift.do/the-most-inspiring-quotes-from-the-32-best-self-help-books-of-all-time/ Sat, 14 May 2022 09:08:47 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=3380 Read ]]> Get your daily dose of motivation from our exhaustive list of quotes.

]]> 3 Actionable Tips to Build Better Habits https://blog.lift.do/3-actionable-tips-to-build-better-habits/ Tue, 07 Sep 2021 13:41:33 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2376 Read ]]>

Habits are small decisions taken into regular action. How it shapes you is a result of the habits you had decided to develop in the past. But do you know how you develop that particular habit? Are you aware of how you were able to build those habits?

In research by Duke University published online on January 16, 2016, scientists suggest that habits manifest in the brain and suggest new strategies for breaking them. Practices leave a lasting mark on specific circuits of the brain. So whatever you build up in the brain would become the actions that you perform every day.

Therefore, you may ask, how to consciously build up those actions so that the brain could develop them into a habit? Some of these actions are just simple and easily applicable, and here are three of them:

How to Build Better Habits

Researchers say that people who are successful in controlling their behavior form good habits, but there are more to it than just self-control:

Understand how a habit is formed

Since all habits start with the function of the brain, better understand how it works through forming the pattern that becomes a habit.

It all comes from neuroscience; it appreciates how the brain works with other body parts, primarily the nervous system. The brain forms neural pathways that send signals from one part of the brain to the other. The more you perform a task or the longer you think about how a job is done, the stronger the neural pathways will become. And it retains the information that will eventually form into a habit.

Thus the general rule of the brain in forming a habit is: make a repetitive action in a span that the brain can clearly remember it. According to the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 18 – 254 days to form an automatic behavior about something they repeatedly do.

A single missed opportunity to perform that action or process does not materially affect the habit formation process. So, do it in a span that your brain can develop and process into a habit.

2. Write down your goal.

When aiming to develop a habit, always be clear about your goal. It guides you to attain the result of something that you envision and commit to achieving. A clear goal helps you motivate yourself to be consistent and focused.

Write your goal. Writing your goal will allow your brain to encode it and store it in long-term memory and external storage. According to neuropsychologists, this process is called the “generation effect” ” wherein people better recall information when they create it themselves rather than just reading it.

3. Start Small

Being ambitious and aggressive in building better habits is not bad at all. However, you must have a realistic perspective and discern if your aim is too big to become unattainable. Thus, it is always best to start small and end big.

According to Josef B from the book Tiny Habits, The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg, – “Tiny Habits is the only method for change that worked for me.” Also, Rob G says, “Tiny Habits is a roadmap to a better you.”

A simple example of making tiny habits is taking a daily short walk that would eventually lead you to an exercise habit—or bringing a home-cooked meal to your office that could lead you to better eating habits.

These are small steps that won’t overwhelm you, and these small beginnings will eventually bring you to bigger wins that ultimately form better habits in you.

Key Takeaway

Making your way to build a better habit takes lots of effort. And these efforts must not overwhelm you; instead, these efforts should be actionable rather than complicated. Follow the simple tips above, aim for success, earn that good habit and succeed in life.

]]> What Is Habit Coaching and How Can It Change My Life https://blog.lift.do/what-is-habit-coaching-and-how-can-it-change-my-life/ Mon, 06 Sep 2021 19:13:20 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2373 Read ]]> According to Stephen Covey- A habit is the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire; whether you developed a good habit or a bad one, it would become the character that ultimately becomes you.

A habit is repeated behavior that is learned rather than acquired. It requires little or no thought to develop a habit, and it can be part of any activity you do regularly. And that habit becomes your character and, ultimately, your destiny. That’s why Aristotle said that “We are what we repeatedly do.”

You can develop habits in either conscious or unconscious behavior, and the habits you form can either be good or bad. Good habits are those behaviors that are beneficial to your well-being, and it is often linked to discipline and self-control.

Likewise, bad habits are negative behavioral patterns that may be willful or a result of an unconscious act. Thus, it would be best if you recognized them before they became your character.

Breaking Bad Habits through Habit Coaching

You can keep bad habits, like fidgeting, but needless to say, most bad habits are detrimental and should be changed, eliminated, and replaced. Ditching a bad habit may be a challenge because the process of breaking it does the same practice when you develop it.

Also, breaking and replacing a bad habit takes double effort because you have yet to create a good routine after breaking the bad one. Thus it needs double work to ditch the bad and develop the good. That’s why you need a habit coaching program to help you break a bad habit for good.

Habit coaching enables you to transform and do things differently, not just for fitness and nutrition but for your overall lifestyle. It would create a true and lasting positive transformation that supports your well-being.

Habit coaching allows you to stay connected and motivated by having a habit coach be part of your routine. The coach will set you up and guide you to achieve bigger goals and improve your life through small daily steps and conscious wins.

When to See A Habit Coach

Your conscious decision to start a habit change is already a win towards making a good life. But when you decide otherwise, you might need to work with a habit coach, especially if you encounter these unpopular perspectives:

You are tired of relying on your motivation to get things done.
You need to see a coach if you are tired of starting anew because of a recurring failure.
When you doubt yourself to accomplish things, you need a habit coach to help you find clarity.
It would help if you had a coach when you become unaccountable, unmotivated, and tend to give up easily.
If you are likely to get stressed easily – wanting to change a habit could sometimes be a struggle and stressful, thus making you get discouraged and give up so easily. So if you are overwhelmed with this condition, you must get a habit coach to help you change your habit.

The Benefits of Habit Coaching

As you break an unwanted habit through habit coaching, you would realize bundles of benefits that would surely change your life for good. And these are some of the benefits that you will enjoy.

Habit coaching provides you the proper skills, strategies, and support needed to develop a habit.
Helps build your confidence to pursue your goal and make changes with your routines.
You will get valuable experience because you work with exceptional habit coaches.
It helps you see your blind spots – when you are into habit coaching, you will be guided to discover and uncover your potentials that you might not know you have or you avoided.
It helps you practice mindfulness – you will be aware of your feelings, actions, and thoughts that directly relate to your habit, thus making you conscious to avoid or act on it.

]]> 36 Resources to Set Goals and Form Better Habits https://blog.lift.do/36-resources-to-set-goals-and-form-better-habits/ Sat, 24 Jul 2021 10:37:53 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2277

Before you work on getting stronger, more efficient, or more charismatic, ask yourself: “to what end?”

Your answer becomes your guiding mission. Then, set out to master habit-building as a skill. Once you do those two things, you can set out to tackle your dreams.

I’m a little bit prickly about people who don’t have an end in mind — and it’s not just readers who fall into this trap. Many gurus publish masterful works of productivity or fat loss, but seemingly don’t have anyone in their life who loves them (or vice versa). What has being thin and rich gotten them, then? Not much (IMO).

So, I don’t want you to fall into that trap of thinking that activity is the same as accomplishment.

But I also don’t want you to fall into analysis paralysis of whether your goal is good enough. The Goal Setting section below is meant to land you in a healthy middle ground.

After that, there’s a section on habit building and habit breaking. You can’t go anywhere without the ability to create consistency in your life.

The concluding section is about Emotional Rewiring. All of us are of two minds: one emotional, and one rational. This is best explained in the Kahneman book, Thinking, Fast and Slow. Your rational mind is easy to convince — just gather research and facts.

However, your emotional mind must be rewired emotionally. This is the province of the wu wu, like magic crystals, mantras, etc. These interventions are irrational, and coming to grips with that was a big turning point in my own understanding of what works. As a science-loving rationalist, I go through these hokey seeming (to me) and sometimes metaphysical exercises with my own pragmatic mantra: “This is a useful mental construct.”

Goal Setting

These are broken down by scope. Most people at least consider New Year’s Resolutions. But also you should consider your life goals (and then regularly reconsider them), your annual goals (maybe re-evaluating mid-year), and then your weekly and daily goals.

New Year’s Resolutions:

Looking at the big picture of your entire life:

Looking at your year:

Looking at your week:

Looking at your day:

The 48 Tomatoes Exercise Method for Time Management ~Mike Sturm

What to do when you fail to achieve a goal:

Habits & Behavior Design

Most people should read at least these first two articles. The first explains several popular models for forming your own habits. The second explains how once you have a habit, you can tune the difficulty of your practice so that you’re always improving at the optimal rate.

Breaking bad habits:

Optimizing & long term success:

Emotional Rewiring

It’s rational to have a bag of irrational strategies for rewiring your irrational emotions.

]]> How and Why You Need to Track Your Daily Habits https://blog.lift.do/how-and-why-you-need-to-track-your-daily-habits/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 12:35:18 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2267 Read ]]> Tracking your daily habits can be an excellent way of sticking with any new resolution of change you want to make in your life.

If you are trying to build a new habit or get rid of an old one, tracking your progress on the calendar can be a huge motivating factor on your journey. If you mark the days on the calendar where you managed to successfully stick to your new habit, you’ll soon see a streak. The longer you build the streak, the harder it will become for you to break it.

Aside from that, tracking your daily habits has multiple benefits. This post discusses all that and helps you how you can start tracking your daily habits and activities.

Why tracking your daily habits helps

Tracking your daily habits can help you in several ways, including:

It helps you understand where your time went during the day and how you can better gain back control over your life.
It helps you set realistic goals and be more organized with your tasks, priorities, and plans for the future.
It gives you a better idea of how much time it normally takes for you to complete a particular task.
It keeps you accountable and boosts your productivity.
It helps you get better at single-tasking, rather than exhausting yourself with trying to perform multiple tasks at the same time.

How to track your daily habits

Now that we have established why keeping track of your daily habits is important, let’s take a look at how you can achieve this. Broadly speaking, there are two ways in which you can do it:

Using a journal and a pen

To keep track of your daily habits using a pen and paper, you will need the following:

Set your daily tasks at the start of your day. In other words, make a to-do list in the morning.
Track the hours you spend on each task you have to perform throughout the day.
At the end of the day, make a summary to reflect on everything you have accomplished during the day.
When you are trying to build a new habit, mark all the days on the calendar in which you successfully stuck to your new resolution.

Using a habit tracker app

Habit tracker apps come in. They serve as an incredible self-accountability check and can help you boost your motivation to stick to your new habit.

You can check this post for a list of the five most popular FREE habit tracking apps on the Apple App Store.

Install the free Caoch.Me Habit Tracker here.

]]> What is the Best Habit Tracking App https://blog.lift.do/what-is-the-best-habit-tracking-app/ Sat, 26 Jun 2021 19:50:36 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2260 Read ]]>

When you are trying to build a new habit or break out of an old one, getting a habit tracker is an amazing option.

Marking your daily progress in pursuit of the new habit in a habit tracker is a great way to make sure you don’t fall off the wagon. The easiest way to do it is to set your daily goals and mark them on a journal or calendar.

You can also download a free habit tracker and mark the days you managed to meet your daily goal. Seeing an unbroken streak of a lot of days can be a huge motivator and go a long way in making sure you don’t give up on yourself.

But since there are so many highly-rated apps on the play store (check the 5 Most Popular FREE Habit Tracking Apps in the Apple App Store here), how can you determine which one is the best? This post discusses the best habit tracker app on the play store.

Introducing Coach.me

As their app store description establishes, “Coach.me will completely change your life! Get started with habit tracking. Then add in community support and private coaching for the ultimate support system for your goals.

Every aspect of our app and community is focused on helping you achieve mastery. From day one, we show you your progress, celebrate your milestones, and answer your questions.

Every aspect of our experience has been designed based on the latest research on psychology and behavior design. We are huge fans of Carol Dweck, Daniel Kahneman and BJ Fogg. If you join our community you will develop a growth mindset, learn the power of positive reinforcement, experience the motivational force of external accountability, and harness your improvement efforts in an efficient way according to the tenants of deliberate practice.” Whether you are looking for a discreet companion to enjoy a night on the town, or an intimate evening in the comfort of your own home, you will find it in Zug. With a selection of stunning escort ladies to choose from, you can be sure that you will find the perfect match for your needs. From experienced professionals to young and vibrant vixens, you can find the perfect erotic date for whatever your desires may be. Finding escort girls in Zug can be an exciting and thrilling experience. Start your search today to find the girl of your dreams.

What makes Coach.Me different from all the rest?

Coach.me is the original app that inspired most others that you currently find on the app store.
It is based on the deepest positive psychology that will help you not just mindlessly pursue your goal, but actively take steps to make sure you are living the life you dreamed for yourself. In short, the app will help you lead a better life with better habits.
It has built-in accountability in the form of the habit tracker and the Directory of Accountability Coaches to help you stay true to your resolutions.
It has a powerful and responsive community with regular check-ins. You can learn an all-round holistic route to self-improvement, and feel like you are a part of a community of the people who are the most passionate about self-improvement.

]]> Do Habit Tracker Apps Really Work? https://blog.lift.do/do-habit-tracker-apps-really-work/ Sat, 26 Jun 2021 19:20:39 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2257 Read ]]> Habit tracker apps are extremely useful when you are trying to build a new habit or break out of an old one.

Sure, you can track other aspects of the habit in terms of how much progress you have made. But tracking your consistency is also valuable. No matter where you are in your journey of incorporating the new habit into your daily routine, an occasional pat on the back for sticking to your goals is important.

This is where a habit tracker comes in.

Mark the days where you stuck to your new habit, and soon, you’ll get addicted to seeing the streak going on. There’s something magical about having an unbroken streak. It can make you feel accomplished and motivated to keep working.

One of the best habit tracker apps on the app store is the Coach.Me app. If you are wondering whether or not this app is useful, here are some amazing reviews of the Coach.Me app:

“Wish I would have met my coach Will years ago! I am literally 3 times more effective and productive than I used to be.” ~ Dan

“Before my coach Josh, the idea of bounding out of bed early in the morning was a dream and something I had tried and failed at for years. Josh broke it down into very simple steps. I am now sleeping better, getting up early consistently and the biggest breakthrough is getting up is now easy.” ~Jess

“Without being able to press that ‘Send Message’ button to my coach every day, I am certain I would not have come as far with my writing. With that momentum, I managed to write 500 words nearly every day, started a blog, and am still going. It’s been only 3 months, and I feel like a new person.” ~ Alina

“I got a promotion literally two weeks after hiring my business coach. Now I have a much bigger say over product and strategy. I feel like a leader and people treat me accordingly!” ~ Graham

“Dorothy has been so inspirational to me and gives me the reasoning and a solution to any problem I have had on the diet. With her coaching, I lost 20 pounds and now have the habits in place to lose the next 20 on my own. I might keep her around, however, just for the support and occasional kick in the butt.” ~ Estela

“I get more done before my family wakes up than I used to in an entire day. After countless attempts to do this on my own, hiring George as a coach was the lever I needed to shift my productivity fast forward. I’ve been successful because George helped me create a morning routine that works specifically for me.” ~ Jim

Download it for your iPhone here.

If you are looking for more habit tracker apps to download for your iPhone, you can check out the 5 Most Popular FREE Habit Tracking Apps in the Apple App Store here.5 Most Popular FREE Habit Tracking Apps in the Apple App Store – HabitHacks

]]> 5 Most Popular FREE Habit Tracking Apps in the Apple App Store https://blog.lift.do/5-most-popular-free-habit-tracking-apps-in-the-apple-app-store/ Sat, 26 Jun 2021 18:56:39 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2254 Read ]]>

That’s where habit tracker apps come in. They serve as an incredible self-accountability check and can help you boost your motivation to stick to your new habit.

This post contains a list of the five most popular FREE habit tracking apps on the Apple App Store. Do you spot any favorites? Let us know in the comments below.

1. Coach.Me

As the description reads, Coach.me will completely change your life!

Start with our world-class goal and habit tracking. Our free tracking tools will change your life. If you get stuck in your goals, get motivated by our community or hire one of our world-class coaches.

Every aspect of our app and community is focused on helping you achieve mastery. From day one, we show you your progress, celebrate your milestones, and answer your questions. Honestly, we should be charging you $500 just to be a member, but 90% of our tools are completely free to you.

Some positive reviews

“Wish I would have met my coach Will years ago! I am literally 3 times more effective and productive than I used to be.” ~ Dan
“Before my coach Josh, the idea of bounding out of bed early in the morning was a dream and something I had tried and failed at for years. Josh broke it down into very simple steps. I am now sleeping better, getting up early consistently and the biggest breakthrough is getting up is now easy.” ~Jess
“Without being able to press that ‘Send Message’ button to my coach every day, I am certain I would not have come as far with my writing. With that momentum, I managed to write 500 words nearly every day, started a blog, and am still going. It’s been only 3 months, and I feel like a new person.” ~ Alina

Install the app here.

2. Productive — Habit Tracker

As the description on the App Store reads, “Productive is a free and easy-to-use tool that helps you build a routine of positive, life changing habits. Set personal goals, track your progress, and motivate yourself to achieve new heights!

What can you do with the Productive app?

– Plan your habits with an easy-to-use interface

– Schedule habits for any time of the day

– Set smart reminders for each time of the day

– Stay on track with useful feedback

Why should you download the Productive app?

SIMPLICITY: The clear and beautiful interface is intuitive and easy to use and will help you stay focused and determined to build new habits and reach new goals.

PERSONAL AND REAL-TIME CHALLENGES: Improve your daily routine by completing guided tasks or competing with other users from all over the world.

STATISTICS: Track your habits and analyze progress — build motivating chains of completed habits and perfect days. The longer your chain of completed habits, the more likely you will keep the streak going.”

Some positive reviews

“This app is great for building daily habits, the concept is the gamification of habits. The scheduling works the way I want and it is intuitive.”~ Juan Leonard
“Productive is really well made, it’s intuitive and very low friction. Does what it does and does so brilliantly. Kudos to the team, it is certainly helping change my life, habit by habit.” ~ Vishesh
“I always want to build good habits but struggled to organize myself in a way which helps me to sustain the habits and achieve my personal and professional goals. This app helped me to not only go build good habit but also stay on track consistently.” ~ Deepak

Install the app here.

3. Strides: Goal & Habit Tracker

As their description on the app store says, “Track all your Goals & Habits in one flexible app. With Strides you can track anything — good or bad habits and SMART goals — with reminders to hold you accountable and charts to keep you motivated.

Recommended in The New York Times, Strides has been called “the most comprehensive, user-friendly, beautifully designed goal tracking app available.”

Imagine having all of your most important habits, routines, and goals together in one simple to-do list. Now you can.

Track anything you want with four types:

Track good or bad Habits with a streak calendar.
Reach your Target goal value by a specific date.
Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or rolling Average.
Complete a Project on time with milestones.”

Some positive reviews

“I’ve used almost every habit tracking app, but this one seems too versatile in terms of tracking data.” ~ Vinod.
“It is the only app which allows you to add 7 habits which is the most in any of the free apps and everything works great and it can really improve your life if used right. Kudos to the developers.” ~ Chja
“The features of this app are perfectly fitted to everyone’s needs and the Variety of things you can monitor using this is what makes it stand out.” ~ Bharath.

Install the app here.

4. Habit — Daily Tracker

As their app store description says, “Daily Habit Tracker is a stylish goal-tracking app that nudges you to ensure you hit your targets.

Tick off your task every time you do it, and Habit will give you a percentage success rate. The more you use it and the more disciplined you are the higher your success rate and the better your progress report. You can also view this data at a glance on a graph. The app is completely free to use!

Why more than 900,000 users choose Daily Habit Tracker?

You don’t need to pay a penny to start building great habits.
Ad-free. We hate ads & don’t want to bother our users
Stats & Graphs. Track a clear overview of your progress.
Reminders. Receive a friendly notification on time.
Motivate yourself. Add motivation quotes to your habits.”

Some positive reviews

“This is the only habit tracker app out there that I find useful because of its simple and intuitive interface.” ~ Nag
“The simplistic and extremely user-friendly interface of the app makes it very versatile and simple to use. Would highly recommend it.” ~ Vartika
“It’s one of the best habit tracking apps out there. Well thought out features like timely reminders and custom motivations help a lot when building a habit.” ~ Sarveshwar

Install the app here.

5. Simple Habit Tracker

As their app store description claims, “Simple Habit Tracker helps you to build good habits routine and change your life!

New Year Resolution is the perfect opportunity to plan and build positive life-changing habits and Make 2020 Your Best Year Ever!”

Some positive reviews

“I have tried almost 12+ habit trackers. This is the only free app which gives you a way to track more than 3 habits a day.” ~ Gopi
“I’ve tried so many habit trackers and this is the only one that’s free. For people who haven’t tried it please try it now I finally am following the habits I once wanted to.” ~ Blitz
“I have used dozens of habit tracking apps before but this one beats most of them with its simple and elegant design.” ~ Pramod

Install the app here.

]]> 5 Tips For Choosing an Accountability Coach https://blog.lift.do/5-tips-for-choosing-an-accountability-coach/ Fri, 18 Jun 2021 17:26:11 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2251 Read ]]> When you’re starting a new habit, it becomes much easier if you have someone to keep you accountable. This can be a friend with whom you’ve started the habit together or a certified coach who can help you identify your excuses and make sure you don’t give up on yourself.

As mentioned before, an accountability coach is a trained professional who helps you set clear goals and stick to the timelines you have set for yourself. They will help you resolve any challenges you face on this journey and make sure you are in touch with why you are doing all this in the first place.

The best time to choose an accountability coach is when you are just setting off on your journey towards building a new habit or achieving a new goal and need someone to directly guide the way. An accountability coach can teach you how to implement the concepts and practices of whatever it is your are striving for.

They can also help you with the following:

Set realistic goals in alignment with your long-term vision
Periodically review and measure the progress you have made
Remind you to celebrate small wins
Assess the setbacks that prevent you from reaching your target and help you overcome them
Cheer you on and help you get back on track if you ever fall off the wagon.

No matter what habit you are trying to build or break, you can find yourself a certified coach from this directory of accountability coaches.

When you are new to this journey or sticking to a goal and prefer to learn and improve as you go along, it is best to choose an accountability coach in this situation. Here are some tips to keep in mind while choosing one:

1. Find someone experienced in your niche

An accountability coach need not have achieved the same goal as you did. But if they are trained in psychology and have worked with enough clients with the same dreams, they can definitely help you in your journey.

2. Ask them about their coaching style

Some coaches approach their coaching sessions in an organized manner, while some prefer to go with the flow. Some tend to be strict while others are more accomodating.

Knowing your coach’s style before committing to working with them can help you determine whether it aligns with what you are looking for. Ask your prospective coach the style they prefer and then introspect if that is the kind of support you are currently looking for.

3. Ask what tools and methods they use

Some believe weekly calls work, while others operate mostly via texts. Some prefer to give you a lot of assignments and homework, while others work best when you are the one asking questions.

When you know the style of your accountability coach aligns with what you currently need, you can make better use of the support they offer. You need to know if the tools they use resonates with you and fits with the kind of support you are looking for.

4. Have a consultation call with the coach

A clarity call or a one-on-one consultation with the coach before you start working together can be of great value when you are getting started on your journey. Aside from asking the questions above, here are some other things you can determine on a consultation call:

Their pricing and if it matches your budget.
Their availability and whether they can be in touch at the times you need them the most.
Whether their personality and talking style lifts you up and provides further motivation. In short, do you vibe well with them?

5. Assess their success rates

Go through the testimonials your prospective accountability coach has and do a quick check-up on their success rates. If possible, reach out to a past client and talk to them about their experiences. Coaching, after all, is a big investment, and you want to make sure you get the most out of it.

]]> 5 Best TED Talks to Help You Build and Maintain Better Habits https://blog.lift.do/5-best-ted-talks-to-help-you-build-and-maintain-better-habits/ Fri, 11 Jun 2021 12:07:12 +0000 https://blog.lift.do/?p=2238 Read ]]>

Watching TED talks have an amazing impact on most people. They are filled with the adrenaline rush of wanting to make an immediate change in their lives right away.

If you are a fan of watching TED talks and are trying to build better habits, this post is just for you. It discusses five TED talks that are powerful enough to help you build new habits and get rid of bad ones.

1. Judson Brewer: “A Simple Way to Break a Habit”

Length: 9 min. 24 sec.
Target: Learn to give up a bad habit.

Psychiatrist Judson Brewer talks about how we can break bad habits by being more curious about them. In this TED talk, Brewer explores the relationship between mindfulness and addiction and discusses how we can break away from the things we do even though we know they’re bad for us by being curious about them.

In an example, Brewer asked the people in his lab to be mindful about their breath while smoking. The participants weren’t forced to stop smoking, rather, they were asked to describe how their breath tastes and feels. Earlier, even though they knew cognitively that smoking was bad for them, being mindful about its impact on their breath made them feel revulsed.

One participant even commented, “Mindful smoking: smells like stinky cheese and tastes like chemicals, YUCK!”

“This is what mindfulness is all about: Seeing really clearly what we get when we get caught up in our behaviors, becoming disenchanted on a visceral level and from this disenchanted stance, naturally letting go.” — Judson Brewer

Watch the talk here.

2. Christine Carter: “The 1-Minute Secret to Forming A New Habit”

Length: 10 min. 56 sec.
Target: Building new habits.

Most of us have struggled with starting a new resolution and being high on motivation. Later, the motivation runs out and we’re left struggling with reasons to stick with our new habit. In this talk, Sociologist Christine Carter shares a simple step to shift your mindset and help you stay on track to achieving your grandest ambitions.

In this talk, Christine Carter shares that motivation or energy aren’t the only things needed to build a habit that lasts. You don’t need extreme talent. You need only to be willing to do something that is terribly small and to remember that to keep doing it is better than nothing.

“When we abandon our grand plans and great ambitions in favor of taking that first step, we shift. And paradoxically, it’s only in that tiny shift that our grand plans and great ambitions are truly born.” — Christine Carter

Watch the talk here.

3. Matt Cutts: “Try Something New For 30 Days”

Length: 3 min. 27 sec.
Target: Building a new habit.

If there is something you always wanted to do, but just couldn’t find the motivation to start, Matt Cutts, an early employee at Google has a simple suggestion: Try it for 30 days.

In this talk, Matt Cutts suggests that instead of waiting for the perfect moment, we should just start and stick with any new habit we are trying to build for at least 30 days. Armed with the knowledge that these 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, holding on to your resolution will become much easier.

“I learned that when I made small, sustainable changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick. There’s nothing wrong with big, crazy challenges. In fact, they’re a ton of fun. But they’re less likely to stick.” — Matt Cutts

Watch the talk here.

4. Shlomo Benartzi: “Saving for Tomorrow, Tomorrow”

Length: 17 min, 29 sec.
Target: Start saving money today.

It’s easy to convince ourselves that we will start saving money next week, but how about starting right now, even when our instinct is to spend it. In this talk, Economist Shlomo Benartzi says this is one of the biggest obstacles to saving enough for retirement and presents a solution on how we can flip this behavioral challenge into a behavioral solution.

“Self-control is not a problem in the future. It’s only a problem now.” — Shlomo Benartzi

Watch the talk here.

5. Dean Ornish: “Your Genes Are Not Your Fate”

Length: 3 min. 12 sec.
Target: Change your genetics by adopting healthy lifestyle habits.

Dean Ornish, a clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute shares how adopting healthy lifestyle habits can affect a person at a genetic level. He gives an example that when you live healthier, eat better, exercise, and love more, your brain cells actually increase.

The speaker is a leading expert on fighting illness — particularly heart disease with dietary and lifestyle changes, and his expertise shines through the length of this short, but impactful talk.

“Our genes are not our fate, and if we make these changes — they’re a predisposition — but if we make bigger changes than we might have made otherwise, we can actually change how our genes are expressed.” — Dean Ornish

Watch the talk here.

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