You’ve probably heard the adage: Everything old is new again.
It seems to be an accurate assessment in fitness, finances, fashion, and a host of other areas of life that start with letters other than “f”. In fact, I was recently reminded of the idea after reading about a research study on habit change.
I remember reading a book about habit change just after having graduated college.
I don’t actually remember the name of the book (🤷♂️), but two specific concepts have stuck with me all these years—and I’ve relayed them to other many times.
They’re basically flip sides of the same coin:
Substitution principle: When you experience the urge to take some action—that is, habit—that you want to change, give in to the urge but choose a slightly better action. (This is the reactive side of the coin.)
For example: When you want to eat a package of Oreos, choose a package of Kashi cookies instead. Better options than Kashi cookies obviously exist, but relative to Oreos, they contain less sugar, more fiber & protein, and fewer calories; they’re more filling; and you’ve “scratched the itch” of wanting cookies. With time and practice, you should find eating less than the entire package easier and perhaps eventually switch to an even better option. Like an apple.
Crowding-out principle: Before you experience the urge to take some action that you want to change, add in other positive actions to “crowd out” the negative action. (This is the proactive side of the coin.)
For example: You want to change your habit of snacking on chips while watching TV when you get home from work. So, you decide to either fill your time with a brief workout before dinner or fill your belly with two glasses of water as soon as you walk through the door. Choosing either option effectively eliminates your chip-eating habit by filling either your time or your belly space with a better choice.
With either principle the focus is less on avoiding or eliminating the “bad” habit and more on adding or implementing “better” habits.
Twenty or so years after reading about these principles, this study confirmed them. If you don’t want to geek out by reading the entire article, here’s the idea:
The study participants learned a new (visuomotor reaction time) skill on a computer. Later they learned another similar skill, meant to replace the previous skill, while being asked to either (a) consciously ignore the previously learned skill or (b) focus on learning the new skill.
During the experiment the researchers observed that trying to consciously ignore the previously learned skill “hindered both overcoming the old behavior and establishing the new one” and that “suppressing unwanted behaviors is not only ineffective but may even further strengthen them”.
And on the positive side, “actively engaging in a preferred behavior appears indispensable for its successful acquisition”.
To sum up: If you want to change a habit, you’re much more likely to be successful if you focus on implementing a new habit over eliminating an unwanted one.
Putting it into practice
Pick a habit that you want to change. It can be related to anything: exercise, finances, nutrition, sleep, social media usage, studying tendencies, relationships, you get the picture.
Then spend a couple minutes brainstorming skills or actions with a positive twist but still related to the one you want to change. If it helps you develop ideas, use the context of the Substitution or Crowding-out Principles during your thinking.
Finally, pick one or at-most two skills or actions that you’re currently willing and able to start practicing, do any prep work to make those skills easier to implement (buying a package of Kashi cookies, for example 😉), and get to work creating a new habit that will take you toward the achievement of your goals.