Image by 3D Animation Production Company
InnerSelf's Daily Inspiration
presented by Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com
January 3, 2023
The focus for today's inspiration is:
I notice and recognize my habits.
When asked what stops them from making healthy lifestyle changes, Americans commonly cite a lack of willpower. Granted, willpower is useful in the short term, as we muster the motivation to, for example, sign up for a gym membership or start a diet. But research shows that, surprisingly, people who are more successful at achieving long-term goals exert – if anything – less willpower in their day-to-day lives. This makes sense: Over time, willpower fades and habits prevail.
If the answer isn’t willpower, then what is the key to controlling habits? Changing habits begins with the environments that support them. For example, reducing the visibility of cigarette packs in stores has curbed cigarette purchases. Another path to habit change involves friction: in other words, making it difficult to act on undesirable habits and easy to act on desirable ones. For example, one study found that recycling increased after recycle bins were placed right next to trash cans – which people were already using – versus just 12 feet away.
Effectively changing behavior starts with recognizing that a great deal of behavior is habitual. Habits keep us repeating unwanted behaviors but also desirable ones, even if just enjoying a good-tasting morning brew.
CONTINUE READING:
Today's inspiration was excerpted from the InnerSelf.com article:
How To Break Unhealthy Habits By Not Obsessing About Willpower
Written by Asaf Mazar and Wendy Wood
Read the article here.
This is Marie T. Russell, publisher of InnerSelf.com, wishing you a day of noticing and recognizing your habits (today and every day)
Subscribe here to join me for the next installment of "Today's Inspiration".
The focus for today: Today, I notice and recognize my habits.
* * * * *
RECOMMENDED: The Life Navigator Deck
The Life Navigator Deck: Inspirational Messages to Light the Way and Inspire Your Journey
by Jane Delaford Taylor and Manoj Vijayan.
Whether we are navigating tumultuous eddies or paddling in still water, this set of inspirational cards offers guidance and new perspectives for our day. The cards focus on empowering us, encouraging us to trust in our own innate abilities to handle life in a truly positive, creative and dynamic way.
The pack can be dipped into for instant inspiration as each card contains one idea with the text beautifully supported by well-chosen artwork.
Info/Order this card deck.
About The Authors
Asaf Mazar, Postdoctoral fellow in Behavioral Science, University of Pennsylvania and Wendy Wood, Provost Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Business, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The original article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
