Little Step No. 71
What to do:
Make it easier.
Why this step works:
This week’s little step is a little something to think about.
Many of our diet and lifestyle choices are based on habits that we’ve practised for years. And whilst it’s completely possible to change your habits, it can be a real challenge. One of my favourite books on this subject is ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear. It’s the ‘how-to’ of habit change, and the inspiration for this little step.
James Clear writes, “energy is precious, and the brain is wired to conserve it whenever possible. It is human nature to follow the law of least effort, which states that when deciding between two similar options, people will naturally gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of work.”
That’s not to say we can’t do difficult stuff, or take the path of most resistance, we absolutely can! And this is all covered in his book. What I want to share here though is the simple idea that you can really ramp up your chances of success with a new habit if you spend a bit of time working on how you might make it a bit easier to achieve.
There’s lots of examples where you’ll be doing this already. An obvious one is keeping your toothbrush next to the sink. This makes it so much easier to build a healthy habit of brushing your teeth than if you had to hunt for your toothbrush each time instead.
Have a think now about a new habit you’d like to build and whether there are any tiny little changes you can put in place in advance, to make it a bit easier?
I put this little step into practice myself very recently when I realised I wasn’t drinking enough water. I've simply moved the water jug from the kitchen into my office during the day and it’s worked a treat. There’s endless possibilities with this little step, and you can be as creative as you want. I’d really love to know how you get on x