ABCs of Achievement
ABCs of Achievement
By Shane Sauer
How was your Labor Day Weekend?
Did you use it as an opportunity to plan your new habits for the fall?
NO? I didn’t either. In fact, I sprained my ankle last weekend, and dealing with that threw me a bit off track. (Don’t worry, I’m OK and you’ll be hearing more about my recovery in the future)
But here’s what I realized. If I had done my few moments of planning before the injury happened, the injury wouldn’t have set me back. So today, let’s plan the 3 simple things that will help you achieve what you want in the future.
To get the ball rolling, you are going to need a(n):
Anchor - Also known as a trigger. Something that will cue you to take action.
Behavior - The action you will perform when the trigger happens
Celebration - The small congratulations you will give yourself to engrain the behavior in your brain.
The anchor can be really tricky to identify. The anchor should be something that happens even on your worst days. If you remember, I want to reboot my meditation practice this fall. For me, a meditation habit would happen first thing in the morning. However, I am not a morning person and have to get to work early most days. So, I’m going to use turning off the TV at night as my anchor. It’s not ideal, but it’s a good starting point that has few barriers.
The behavior can also be tricky. It’s not necessarily exactly what you’re trying to achieve. A behavior might be a smaller first step. Remember, we’re building a habit here from the bottom up. For me, the behavior is going to be to close my eyes and take 5 deep breaths. I might do more than that once I start, but it’s a minimum I am confident I can achieve.
For many, the celebration seems stupid. But in reality, it’s the most important part. Celebration is what creates the dopamine response that wires your brain to keep doing the habit. Don’t skip it! When I’m done with my breaths, I’m going to smile. It’ll likely happen naturally, but I’m going to be aware of it too. Remember, the size of the celebration should match the size of the behavior.
These components were identified through the research of Dr. BJ Fogg. He wrote a book called Tiny Habits and even has a free 5-day course you might want to check out.
Better yet, you can work through this process with me this month. Send me a message with the habit you want to change and we can work through your ABCs together!