Hi, this is Casha, and I am one of the Sales and Leadership coaches with Emerge Sales Training. Today’s blog post is How to Build Good Habits That Last.
Today I’m talking about something we probably don’t often think about, and yet they’re something that play a major role in our everyday lives. I’m talking about habits. Now I know what you’re probably thinking because our minds tend to immediately drift towards the bad habits like smoking, gambling, or spending too many hours on Pinterest, but there are good habits too, like exercise, flossing, and making your bed.
According to research, almost 40% of our days can be chalked up to habits. So that got me to thinking, what are habits and where do habits come into play when it comes to running your business?
Merriam-Webster defines a habit as a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. They’re what seem like insignificant decisions in the moment, but add up to the actions, or in some cases, inactions you take. They’re the things you repeatedly do each day, so when we can learn to build good habits and break the bad ones you may do more than transform your business, you could even transform your life!
Turns out there’s a pattern to every habit- good or bad. In the book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg outlines it as the habit loop- the reminder, the routine, and the reward. I like to think about it like dominos and once the first one falls, the others just follow suit.
Take for example, a phone call.
The ring acts as the reminder. It’s what triggers you to take a specific action. This is where habits start. Next is the routine, or the habit itself. It’s the action or inaction you take, so in the case of a phone call- the routine is whether or not you answer. The reward is the final domino to fall in the habit loop, in this case, who’s on the other end of the line. If the caller was someone you wanted to talk to, you’d be likely to answer because the reward lies in your conversation. On the other hand, if the caller was someone you felt a little less enthusiastic about, the reward lies in sending the call to voicemail because you were able to escape a conversation you didn’t want to have.
The book goes on to identify that when the rewards are positive, it’s likely you’ll repeat the behavior the next time you’re reminded or triggered – or in this case, when the phone rings – and when we repeat the same behavior enough times, a habit is born.
You’ve probably heard the saying “old habits die hard” and for good reason, our brains are wired to do things automatically. I’ll spare you all the science because Tasha is more of the neuroscience geek, but just think about it- our hearts beat, our lungs breathe, and our eyes blink, without one conscious decision.
So what are we to do about those pesky bad habits like procrastination, multi-tasking, and being reactive instead of proactive that prevent us from doing the things we want to do or getting to where we want to go? How do we improve and form better habits? Just like the motivation roller coaster, we need to hijack our brains. If our brains are already wired to do things automatically, what if we could reprogram our habit loop?
Here’s 3 simple steps to get started…
Let’s use the example of the phone calls again, except this time, you’re the one who’s dialing.
Step 1) Create a reminder for your new habit
The reminder plays a vital role in building new habits because it’s what sets everything else into motion. This is where you can use your existing habits- the things you already do everyday- to build new ones, or what Duhigg calls, habit stacking.
For example, checking your email or Facebook notifications, are things you probably already do without thinking and there are existing habits that could be used as a reminder to trigger your new habit, calling the people.
Step 2) Start small
When it comes to making changes or improvements in our business it’s easy to get caught up in wanting more, being more, or doing more… YESTERDAY. But where habits are concerned, it is easier to take smaller steps over a longer period of time in order to have a lasting impact. I mean, just think about when you learned how to walk… you didn’t come out of the womb running marathons. First you had to learn to hold your head up, sit up right, then crawl, eventually walk, and then run. There was a process, and while it may have taken you almost an entire year to learn how to run, once you learned, you didn’t forget.
So when you’re looking at your long list of all the people you want to call, start with a number that’s so easy you can’t say no. For some of you, that might be one, for others it might be five. The important thing to remember isn’t how many; it’s more about getting it done and just starting.
Step 3) Celebrate
At Emerge we’re big on celebrating wins because it’s important to focus on what’s going well, keep our successes in front of us and do things that make us and others feel good which is great news for you since the key to building new habits is rewarding yourself after you’ve taken action. So after you’ve made those phone calls give yourself some credit, share your success with someone else, or do what I do and eat a piece of chocolate.
There’s no secret sauce or magic app to build new habits, but you’ll find that almost every habit fits the reminder, routine, and reward loop. You might have to do some experimenting to find the right reminder or reward, just remember it’s a process. As Alan Watts said, “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
If you’re curious to find out more about habits, why we do what we do in business and life, and how you can transform almost every aspect of your daily routines and patterns check out The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. I’d love to hear if you pick up a copy or what new habits you’re focusing on, so feel free to email me at casha@emergesalestraining.com.
Thank you so much for reading today’s post!
To sign up for one of our free trainings on closing or recruiting, go to emergesalestraining.com/freetraining.
Have a great day!