Think of your favorite song, one that you like so much that you know all the lyrics by memory.  Now try to sing the song backwards.  Chances are you will not get too far and probably guessed this without trying.  So why do we struggle with this?  When you sing the song the right way, the lyric or phrase you’re currently singing is what triggers you to remember the next one.  Moving it out of sequence removes the trigger.  This is exactly how habits work, each one being triggered by a previous habit, and all being triggered by a certain reoccurrence throughout your day.  It’s the very same reason why we struggle saying the alphabet backwards or why sometimes we have to repeat our entire phone number or SS# in our heads to remember the last four digits.

If you are a fan of the NBA, you are likely familiar with the very unique rituals certain players go through at the free throw line before shooting a free throw.  Let’s take one of the most unique ones, the now retired Jeff Hornacek, who was an 87.7% free throw shooter, 16^th highest in NBA history.  He would rub the side of his face three times before shooting a free throw.  If you ask Jeff why he would do this, he will give you the actual and very heartwarming reason that he would rub the side of his face three times as a way of waving to his three kids.  And although you could argue this loving gesture is the reason he would make most of his free throws, the actual reason most of his free throws would go in was because he had a very specific set of habits he had established over years of practice, one triggered by another, all of which started with him getting the ball at the free throw line, and ended with a very consistent shooting form.  Much like trying to sing your favorite song backwards, if Jeff would have skipped his face rubbing, his next step would have likely been off, resulting in an inconsistent shooting form.

So why is all this important?  Our nature as human beings is wanting to grow, perhaps because one of our basic human needs is to feel important, and the more we grow the better our chances of becoming important.  It also puts us in a better position to provide for others which is a main driver for many people.  And a key part of being able to achieve growth is to break bad habits and introduce new ones.  But this can be very difficult, especially when we’re often not conscience of all our habits.  This is why author James Clear suggests in his New York Times bestseller, ATOMIC HABITS, to take some time to try to identify at least most of your habits.  Not only does this help you identify some of those habits you might want to eliminate, but it also gives you an opportunity to determine where you can insert new habits that can be triggered by existing ones.

Lets take as an example a very popular set of habits, your morning routine.  When I was reading the book mentioned above, I decided to do a simple test of introducing a new habit that could be triggered by an existing one.  I wanted to add a quick stretch in the mornings, so I identified that after I wash my face, I then grab a towel, dry myself, then hang the towel.  I know, pretty obvious but it is a set of habits, nonetheless.  So I took hanging the towel as my trigger to do the stretch.  Surely enough it worked.  It required effort at the beginning to remember, but after doing it several times it became part of my routine.  Now I would be lying if I said I never miss doing it.  But when I do forget to do it, usually because something is off that morning, it leaves me with a feeling of having something unfinished, which triggers me to do the quick stretch at the office or later in the day.  And if you’re wondering how often you have to do it for it to become a habit, it’s best to not try to put a number of days on this or it could set you up for failure.  The main thing is to put some effort to remembering to do it, some type of reminder, and you will naturally find out that you don’t really need that reminder anymore.

The most successful method of making significant changes in your life is to start small, simply because the larger the change, the more difficult it will become to sustain it and not revert back to your old ways. With that said, even though there is a lot more to cover about habits, and I’ve written other posts about it before, I will keep this post to one suggestion: know your habits, then take that information to introduce one new habit that will be triggered by one of your existing habits. And most importantly, make sure that new habit is aligned with the type of person you want to grow towards.

“The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you want to become.” – James Clear