The One Big Secret to Changing Your Habits

Pursuing a goal like losing weight or putting an end to procrastination can start off great but then fall apart as time goes by. Usually, the big challenge is overcoming a bad habit and turning it into a good one. Easier said than done.

Fortunately for us, one journalist, Charles Duhigg, wrote a book on how to do just this. In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Duhigg uses real-life examples from past business strategies and his own life on how to permanently change behavior.

According to Duhigg, “some habits are more important than others.” You start major changes in your life by concentrating on an important habit, known as a keystone habit, which will go on to influence other behaviors.

So far, so good. So what is a keystone habit?

A keystone habit is a behavior that helps you perceive yourself differently. It has several characteristics, but I want to highlight two that will make this concept a little more concrete:

1. A keystone habit comprises a series of “small wins.”

Let’s say you want to lose weight, but you never exercise. You could start changing by pledging to walk for fifteen minutes a day. Then you could set a distance goal or add another five minutes of walking time. Accomplishing a series of plausible objectives creates a feeling of winning minor victories, which would only encourage you to take on more.

2. A keystone habit allows you to create new platforms.

This type of habit will be a starting point for other habits to form. If you walk a little bit every day, you could make create a goal to visit a fresh fruit stand and eat fruit as a snack. Right then and there, your habit leads to another one that contributes to a common goal.

Perhaps the psychological barrier to change is that we don’t really buy this “new person” who is supposed to emerge. But if we observe evidence to the contrary, we may slowly accept that change is possible. By watching ourselves gradually reach new milestones (small wins) and brainstorm and enact superior habits (new platforms), we may be better equipped to take control of our habits, and ultimately, how we live our lives.

--Joanna Kim

Joanna Kim is a Writer/Content Strategist for HRI. Although she's very fond of her bad habits, Joanna has been working on slowly replacing them with good ones with the help of Duhigg's book.