Law 2: Make Good Habits Attractive & Bad Habits Unattractive
If you missed the first part of this blog, head over to the Intro.
One way to ensure desired habits take hold is to make them more tempting and attractive. We can do this using the following two strategies:
- Temptation Bundle! Couple the thing you ‘need’ to do with a thing you ‘want’ to do.
- Join a Community! Humans are social creatures and tend to adopt habits approved of by our “tribe.” One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.
Below are some examples:
Good Habit: I want to bring my lunch to work everyday.
Temptation Bundle: Spend 15 min the night before packing your lunch. Listen to your favorite podcast while you do it!
Bad Habit: I want to stop ordering take-out so frequently.
Temptation Bundle: Put on your favorite TV show in the background while you cook dinner.
Good Habit: I want to train for and run a 10K.
Join a Community: Enroll in an in-person or virtual running club and complete weekly group runs.
Bad Habit: I want to stop snoozing my alarm when I try to wake up early to workout.
Join a Community: Introduce yourself to 3 people at the 7 AM gym class you want to go to. Tell them you’ll be there three days this week so you feel accountable to meet them there.
