It’s been more than two years since this post about ‘habit change‘ and in that time I’ve been experimenting with strategies for getting stuff started.
Aside from their Motivaider gizmo, the good folks at Behavioral Dynamics have also described methods for ‘following through’ on their website, and in an excellent ebook.. They’re all useful, but my favorite by far has been the ‘willpower leveraging‘ approach.
Examples of Willpower Leveraging
If you can find a way to ‘kill two birds with one stone’, then willpower leveraging provides rapid feedback on your progress.
For example, I haven’t been running so much outdoors this winter but I still want to enjoy exercise, as well as the associated health benefits. By getting off the train a few stops earlier I’ve been able to add an enjoyable twenty minutes walking (each way) to my schedule.
No stress about trying to squeeze a gym workout before or after a busy working day. (There is of course nothing wrong with pumping iron but at my age, 51, I have family responsibilities I enjoy and that means my free time is best spent with those I love most.)
There’s also an added advantage in being able to listen to various audio education programs on an mp3 player while walking. It’s like having a 40 minute lesson all to myself. However, some days I do ‘goof off’ and listen to music if the study muse has gone missing.
The crazy, almost eccentric, side to all this walking is that I now enjoy a fast gait – especially when I link my paces to a nasal breathing pattern of, say, 5 steps inhale and 4 steps exhale. When done without forcing, it often leads to a mild ‘high’ as whatever troubles or concerns I may have been shouldering, get left on the sidewalk.
The phrase, ‘mental litter’, comes to mind here and, unlike real trash, I’m more than happy to toss this poor thinking garbage aside!
I’d like to leave you with three questions:
1) Is there a place in your daily routine to implement ‘willpower leveraging’?
2) Are you ready to gain an extra 30 to 40 minutes daily?
3) And what would you do with the time?
- Mark ‘habit changer‘ McClure
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