The first answer is provided by Desiderius' insightful comment above, rather than tracking a negative habit one should focus on building a new, positive habit in its place.
For instance, if you wanted to stop and/or reduce your beer consumption, you should focus on tracking your water or other beverage consumption. Or, you might even substitute a non-alcoholic beer and track that.
The problem is when you focus your attention on a negative habit by tracking it, you tend to reinforce the thoughts and emotions related to the negative habit. For instance, if you are told not to think about a pink elephant, the very first thing you will do is think of a pink elephant. Your mind and subconscious tends to ignore the concept of negatives.
By focusing on a new, positive habit your attention and energy are set upon building a new positive habit which will replace the negative habit.
The other effective way is to weaken a negative habit's habitstrength. By following PARR Plan, Act, Record & Reassess and instead of using the "minimum success criteria" use a "maximum success criteria".
When trying to lower habitstrength the core idea is to establish a maximum or threshold not to exceed for your target day. Over time, by lowering the "maximum success criteria" the habitstrength weakens. For instance, the first two or four week tracking period you might allow yourself up to 7 cigarettes per target day and the second tracking period you might then lower the threshold to 5 cigarettes per target day.
For each subsequent tracking period the maximum success criteria is lowered for each target day and over time the habitstrength decreases.
Enjoy the episode!
***
New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates.
Feel free to share the episode and leave a review on iTunes!
*****
Subscribe iTunes here!
Subscribe: Android | RSS
*****
TOOLS/BOOKS WE RECOMMEND:
Bucket List PRO (iOS app) iTunes
Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here:
As a Man Thinketh
The 3 C's of SucCcess (Mitch W. Steel)
The Psychology of Achievement (Brian Tracy)
The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale)
The Magic of Thinking BIG! (David Schwartz)
Think & Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)
The Success Principles (Jack Canfield)
Getting Things Done! (Allen's Great Book!)
**HABIT FACTOR RESOURCES!!**
(FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template)
The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools and other resources)
The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Habit Factor app (iOS, Android)
**WEBINARS**
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Why Happiness is a Habit and how to cultivate it!
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Focus & Discipline
---------
Thank YOU for checking out this episode and we're always grateful when you SHARE our episodes w/ your friends and family and help us by writing a review ; )
----------
We live in the information age. In an instant you can have top technical and scholarly articles on nearly any subject.
Information is easily attained. That's the good news. The bad news is we love to consume information: news, books, movies, podcasts (irony recognized), social media, etc. On and on it goes. Information. Information. Information.
All this information consumption comes at a cost. The cost is stagnation. By consuming information, we feel as though we are actually doing something.
"Well," you say, "information is knowledge and knowledge is power!" "A little information can't hurt?" Correct. A "little" information is very likely a good thing. Too much information has a price for many of us.
In many cases, the consumption of information is precluding actual effort. Information/knowledge is only potential power. One needs to act!
On a recent mastermind call, one of the participants was troubled by his recent health report. He was deemed overweight with too much visceral fat, and there was concern about possible diabetes and other health issues. The group began to recommend books to read and documentaries to watch. Even the concerned member, who already had seen multiple doctors and had reports, believed that he should see another specialist and doctor.
The concerned participant already had more information than he needed. He was drowning in information, and what he needed was action.
In fact, what he needed was consistent action (HABIT). He was encouraged to begin habit tracking relative to his diet and exercise. Habit tracking is where the rubber meets the road. His problem wasn't lack of information, it was lack of action.
Enjoy the episode!
***
New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates.
Feel free to share the episode and leave a review on iTunes!
*****
Subscribe iTunes here!
Subscribe: Android | RSS
*****
TOOLS/BOOKS WE RECOMMEND:
Bucket List PRO (iOS app) iTunes
Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here:
As a Man Thinketh
The 3 C's of SucCcess (Mitch W. Steel)
The Psychology of Achievement (Brian Tracy)
The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale)
The Magic of Thinking BIG! (David Schwartz)
Think & Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)
The Success Principles (Jack Canfield)
Getting Things Done! (Allen's Great Book!)
**HABIT FACTOR RESOURCES!!**
(FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template)
The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools and other resources)
The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Habit Factor app (iOS, Android)
**WEBINARS**
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Why Happiness is a Habit and how to cultivate it!
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Focus & Discipline
---------
Thank YOU for checking out this episode and we're always grateful when you SHARE our episodes w/ your friends and family and help us by writing a review ; )
----------
A single day is a powerful concept. In a single day our world can truly begin to transform. All it takes is one day! Just one day for us to make a life-long, lasting commitment to begin to develop new habits.
Transformation and positive change can begin in a moment --on any given day YOU decide. Jim Rohn used to say, "We cannot change our destiny overnight but we can change our destination." The question is which day are you going to begin? Can you make today THE day? Or, will today be just another day.
Many of us get caught up in someday syndrome. Brian Tracy loves to call it, "Someday Island". And, he says there are a lot of people stranded there! You know, "Someday, I'll... go on that family vacation". "Someday, I'll start to save money." "Someday, I'll learn how to play the piano or learn a new language."
The power to change is always in the present. Nobody ever created change in the future. Positive change is created on DAY ONE. Is today DAY ONE or just one day?
Enjoy the episode!
***
New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates.
Feel free to share the episode and leave a review on iTunes!
*****
Subscribe iTunes here!
Subscribe: Android | RSS
*****
TOOLS/BOOKS WE RECOMMEND:
Bucket List PRO (iOS app) iTunes
Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here:
As a Man Thinketh
The 3 C's of SucCcess (Mitch W. Steel)
The Psychology of Achievement (Brian Tracy)
The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale)
The Magic of Thinking BIG! (David Schwartz)
Think & Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)
The Success Principles (Jack Canfield)
Getting Things Done! (Allen's Great Book!)
**HABIT FACTOR RESOURCES!!**
(FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template)
The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools and other resources)
The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Habit Factor app (iOS, Android)
**WEBINARS**
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Why Happiness is a Habit and how to cultivate it!
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Focus & Discipline
---------
Thank YOU for checking out this episode and we're always grateful when you SHARE our episodes w/ your friends and family and help us by writing a review ; )
----------
People often want their near-and-dear friends and family members to cultivate new, positive habits. Yet, the unfortunate reality is that behavior change can't be forced upon another. We can try to bribe, coerce, or even threaten but, without the cooperation and sincere desire of the individual, those efforts will prove futile.
Desire is the first key element of behavior change. Without desire, it's impossible to develop any new habit. With desire, however, new habits are formed more quickly and easily.
One of the most interesting and effective strategies to help others change their behavior is to change our own behavior. By creating goals for ourselves, we are challenged to form new habits. The behavior changes we undergo nearly always influence those closest to us, over time.
Enjoy the episode!
***
New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates.
Feel free to share the episode and leave a review on iTunes!
*****
Subscribe iTunes here!
Subscribe: Android | RSS
*****
TOOLS/BOOKS WE RECOMMEND:
Bucket List PRO (iOS app) iTunes
Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here:
As a Man Thinketh
The 3 C's of SucCcess (Mitch W. Steel)
The Psychology of Achievement (Brian Tracy)
The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale)
The Magic of Thinking BIG! (David Schwartz)
Think & Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)
The Success Principles (Jack Canfield)
Getting Things Done! (Allen's Great Book!)
**HABIT FACTOR RESOURCES!!**
(FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template)
The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools and other resources)
The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Habit Factor app (iOS, Android)
**WEBINARS**
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Why Happiness is a Habit and how to cultivate it!
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Focus & Discipline
---------
Thank YOU for checking out this episode and we're always grateful when you SHARE our episodes w/ your friends and family and help us by writing a review ; )
----------
Thought experiments come in many varieties and you don't have to be a theoretical physicist to put them to use.
A good thought experiment can drive behavior change, goal achievement and even habit development!
Albert Einstein was famous for his breakthrough "thought experiments". Even though he struggled somewhat in mathematics, his natural strength was using his imagination to solve problems. At the age of 16, Einstein was entertaining the bizarre thought experiment of riding a beam of light alongside another beam of light. This thought experiment ultimately helped to redefine the foundation of physics and facilitate his Theory of Relativity.
The ability to pose questions and then lay them against a backdrop of our imagination can help us to solve problems and even problems that don't yet exist!
When it comes to everyday life, we can learn from Einstein's example, putting thought experiments to use for ourselves.
Here's a few examples: What does a successful day look like? What does a successful marriage look like? If I were to eat only salads at night for the next few months, what would be compounding affect? If I were to die tomorrow, what experience or achievement would I most regret not having?
The process of idealization is nothing other than a thought experiment. Entrepreneurs often use thought experiments, for instance, consider Elon Musk with SpaceX. and this question/thought experiment "What if we could reuse the booster rockets?"
Whether it's to improve your health, wealth, business or relationships, the value of applying thought experiments to your life cannot be over emphasized.
Enjoy the episode!
***
New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates.
Feel free to share the episode and leave a review on iTunes!
*****
Subscribe iTunes here!
Subscribe: Android | RSS
*****
TOOLS/BOOKS WE RECOMMEND:
Bucket List PRO (iOS app) iTunes
Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here:
As a Man Thinketh
The 3 C's of SucCcess (Mitch W. Steel)
The Psychology of Achievement (Brian Tracy)
The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale)
The Magic of Thinking BIG! (David Schwartz)
Think & Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)
The Success Principles (Jack Canfield)
Getting Things Done! (Allen's Great Book!)
**HABIT FACTOR RESOURCES!!**
(FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template)
The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools and other resources)
The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Habit Factor app (iOS, Android)
**WEBINARS**
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Why Happiness is a Habit and how to cultivate it!
Free Webinar: (Mini Course) Focus & Discipline
---------
Thank YOU for checking out this episode and we're always grateful when you SHARE our episodes w/ your friends and family and help us by writing a review ; )
----------