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HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE
TO BREAK OR MAKE A HABIT?
Whoops, the power just went out; not again. So you walk into a dark room what is the
first thing you do? You reach for the
light switch; don’t we all? If you say
NO, you just might lie about other things as well. Reaching for the light switch even during a
power outage is the result of building a habit a simple one as it may be but
nonetheless a habit. You can build both
good habits and bad habits. Hopefully
you build only good ones. If you are in
sales, building good sales habits is essential to being successful. Here is another example of a habit I was not
even aware I was building.
I was given a new Samsung 32 inch curved computer monitor
for Christmas. It took me a while to get
it working because there were no connections on the back of my computer CPU
unit that fit the connecting cables to the monitor. I then discovered I must have a graphics card
installed into the computer to make it work.
I purchased one, installed it and it worked perfectly and I love it!
Does the new curved monitor take some time to get use
to? It really didn’t. The videos that
you can watch look even better on the new monitor. So why am I mentioning the new monitor and
the title of this Nugget, “How Long Does It Take To Break A Habit?” Oh, so glad you asked, you did ask didn’t
you?
The new monitor did not fit in the space where I had been
using a smaller 27 inch conventional monitor.
I have a U shaped desk and had the old monitor placed in the corner the
desk shape created. This new monitor was
simply too high. I rearranged the items
on top of my desk and put the new monitor about 3 feet away from the old
monitor’s position.
Have you ever been mentally and visually confused at what
you suddenly see and feel because you realize not everything is the same as it
once was? This is what happened to me
with the new monitor location. I
typically get up very early, that is a habit unto itself. But I get a lot done in the wee hours of
daylight. That is when I typically check
emails from the day before and more importantly, I love to write so this is
when I write like this Nugget. It is
also when I find it more creative for me and that helps me to write.
Back to the habit. I
get so involved in my writing that I am oftentimes totally unaware of what is
happening around me. The sun has not as
yet risen so except for one light and my computer monitor there is no light in
my office space. Given the darkness and
my familiarity with the PREVIOUS location
of all the items on my desk it is not a problem for me. That is until I installed my new monitor in a
different location on my desk. Now
everything is in a different place. Now
imagine that your mind is deep in thought and you are putting those thoughts
down on paper or in this case on your computer monitor. You reach for something that you have reached
for many times before and it is NOT
there. It takes a second or two to
realize that you had to move everything and now the item you seek is located
behind you instead of to your right. For
those few seconds you realize you are not in the same position that you have
been for years. You have created a
habit. If you just set up your desk, you know this would NOT be a problem but you set up this desk up years ago and you have
gotten into a routine and it worked perfectly for you, right? Until now that is.
I am beginning to understand that we individually wire our
brains much like setting up our desks.
We do so in order to think in a certain way, to respond in a certain way
and to a great extent we feel comfortable in our environment. No problem right? We are totally comfortable. Then you introduce a new larger computer
monitor into your life and place it on your desk in a different location and at
times we become confused, we become uncomfortable, things are different. Is that a bad thing? Some may think so but for me, I like the new
monitor, it is easy to use and view. It
gives me a better perspective on what I am writing I can see the words of my
writing on the screen better (getting old usually means your eyesight is not as
it once was when you were younger, trust me on this one). I like everything about the new monitor and
my new mentally created habits?
Here’s the lesson. If
you continue to do everything the way you have always done them for years and
years, you will continue to get similar if not the same results whether that
was your intention or not. Want proof?
If you drive, your brain, especially your subconscious brain, literally drives
your car for you. You don’t think about
unlocking your car and getting in. You
don’t think about inserting your key into the ignition and turning on the
engine. You probably don’t even have to
change the radio station you are about to listen to because you ALWAYS listen to the same station. Why?
Because you have trained or wired your brain to think like that. But it continues, you know there is rarely
ever anything directly behind your car so you are fortunate if one of the
habits you created is that you actually look behind your car BEFORE you put it into reverse and back
up. But if that is NOT a routine habit, God help you and whoever you it. Your entire driving experience is done mostly
by rote. If you grew up in my era you
may understand the word, rote, but if you haven’t, it may be new to you. So….
Definition
of rote:
- A memorizing process using routine or repetition, often without full attention or comprehension. Learn by rote
- Mechanical routine
Does that not describe how you drive your car? Most do so by
routine or repetition often without full attention or comprehension? You know it is. That is why when you first learn to drive you
rarely take your eyes off the road or your hands off the steering wheel. But as you become more proficient at driving,
most if not all of your actions are done subconsciously or as the definition
indicates, by routine or repetition without thinking about what you are
doing. What you are doing or already
have done is create habits, good and bad, When it comes to driving a car, the
habits we create and practice are usually bad habits. Smoking or eating while driving. Carrying on in depth conversations while we
are driving which usually means often turning your head and eyes away from the
road in front of you. Dropping whatever
it is you are eating in your lap. The
list is endless. So why are you
surprised when you are involved in an accident?
You simply were NOT paying
attention because that is the way you taught your brain to function. You created habits. Now it is even worse when people use their
cell phones for ANY reason while
they are driving. Yesterday I saw a
woman of my age (at least she appeared to be in her late 60s or early 70s). She had both hands on the steering wheel
driving at least 70 mph on the Interstate in the speed lane and in her left
hand was her cell phone and while the right had WAS on the wheel, she was using it to type out a text message. Does anyone really believe that you can do TWO or MORE things at the same time AND
do all of them equally as well as you could do just one? Come on, that is just impossible. Multi-tasking is a myth. She was driving erratically otherwise I would
not have noticed her in the first place.
The habits/training we do to our brains is usually done to
our brains with our consent. This may
not be true when you are but a small youngster and your parents are training
you to live your life as safely as possible.
They want you to be safe so they teach you, as an example, not to touch
anything that is hot. You and they are
creating a habit that is beneficial to you.
But what if they, like so many parents around the world, teach the young
mind, hopefully not you, to hate? You
know this is happening but most people think it is happening elsewhere around
the world. It is happening right here in
America. Do you think that the adults
you see committing violent crimes, robbing people, murdering people, etc,
suddenly decided they would do this on their own? Hell no, they were taught at some point in
their lives to hate and disrespect the life and property of others – it just
doesn’t matter to them otherwise they would NOT be doing it. They either
learned behavior like this in their homes, their schools and/or their
friendships if you can call someone that would encourage you to commit a crime
a friend.
These are all habits people plant in their minds and worse
feed these seeds they planted with thoughts to justify their actions. It has been said that our brains are like
computers. If that is so, a computer and
our brain cannot work at all without an operating system and programs. We have all been given a brain which has its
own operating system but it’s the programs that determine how we use the remarkable
abilities that our brains provide. The
phrase garbage in – garbage out applies more to our brains that it ever has to
any computer on your desk. What you did
10 years ago, 5 years ago, this past year or even yesterday or today is a
direct result of how you programmed your brain to think and respond. If you truly want different results or
outcomes, you have to begin to retrain your brain to think in more creative ways. That will NOT happen if you continue to do what you have always done and
expect different results. Einstein said
that is the definition of insanity and it is.
Dr. John Maxwell said that “hope is not an effective
strategy,” and it is not. Hoping
something will change simply won’t as
long as the wiring we have implanted in our brains remain unchanged. If you want your “hopes” to become realities,
you MUST change the internal wiring
of your brain to make it happen. For
example, I know these things to be absolutely true, without exception, but just
knowing it to be true serves no one, NONE! The only way the knowledge I have acquired
over the years best serves anyone is to first be in a position to teach them
and if that does not happen, then write this Nugget and post it for everyone to
see. Am I saddened if few if any ever
see it or read it? Originally I was but I also realized that it doesn’t matter
as long as I post it and that at least one person reads it and take the
information to help them become better at what they do and to do it better
(future) than they had been doing it (past).
Since you’ve read this far, that one person may be you.
You must feed and nourish your brain with thoughts and
ideas that cause you to think in different ways. At least in ways that cause you to make a
decision if the material your brain has taken in is in your best interest to
make a change in the way you think or behave.
We have all seen and read what the HABIT
of smoking and what it does to a person’s brain and body. There are no good things that come from
smoking other than providing an income to tobacco farmers. Several
things are at work when someone continually smokes. (1) They BELIEVE
no harm will come to THEM, they will
be one of the very few lucky ones who does not get sick or even die from
smoking; it will be someone else. Is that true? (2) They KNOW that they have become addicted and therefore they no longer
have a choice. Is that true? (3) They have TAUGHT or WIRED their
brain to WANT to smoke and that
smoking is not a bad thing to do. Is
that true? (4) They believe that smoking
ONLY harms THEM if they choose to smoke and therefore it is a victimless habit
and it is their choice to smoke or live a healthy life because no one else will
be harmed. Is that true?
We all know the answers to the above questions are all FALSE.
So knowing they are false why do people continue to smoke? Because they always have and they are
addicted! PERIOD! I did this exercise
several years ago and here would be a great place to revisit the
calculations. The following paragraph is
taken from the Internet In 2019:
Prices
of Cigarettes By State.
Cigarettes have an average cost of $5.51 a pack with the price
in most states being between six and eight dollars. This number is taken
from the combined prices of all of the states but the actual numbers varying
greatly with the most expensive cigarettes costing on average $12.85 (New
York) Mar 25, 2019
Let’s
just assume that smoking is NOT in
anyone’s best interest. If you smoke one
pack of cigarettes a day and let’s use the lowest average cost of $5.51; that
equates to $38.57 a week or $2,005.64 a year.
If you divide that number by 12 (months) you get your monthly average
for cigarettes which is $167.14 a month.
If you smoke more than one pack a day, such as two packs, that is $77.14
a week and $4,011.28 or $334.27 a month.
You could buy a new car for $334.27 a month to put that all into
perspective.
So why do
you smoke, tell me again? Is smoking in
your best health’s interest? Is smoking
in your best financial interest? If you
answer NO to either question, why do
you smoke? Because like it or not, you
have formed a habit; in this example, a bad habit. In fact it could be a very bad habit
resulting in death. You have wired your
brain to believe what you are doing is acceptable. To stop you have to rewire your brain to make
it believe just the opposite is true.
You MUST FORM NEW HABITS! If you want to learn how, read Dr. Joe
Pistanza’s book You Are the Placebo! It
is a great read and could change how you think and how you can change your
habits that you should want to change.
It
doesn’t matter if we are talking about smoking, losing weight, becoming a
better doctor, a better salesperson, a better anything.
If you continue to do what you have always done
you will continue to get what you have always
gotten! PERIOD!
And your brain will be thrilled!
To
answer the question posed in the title to this Nugget, How Long Does It Take To
Break or Make A Habit? That’s entirely
up to you but I have seen it written in many places that it takes at least 21 consecutive
days where you make the change every day for 21 days BEFORE a new habit is
formed. Just 21 days! There you have it; you decide what is best
for you and your brain from this point forward.
Even more importantly you must always be learning based, learning new
things to feed your brain or otherwise you will have changed nothing and you
again will get what you have always gotten.
If that is acceptable, good for you but you are a rare bird indeed if
that is true. Therefore my advice would
be to read, watch documentaries, attend seminars but try to make the subject
matter apply to what you want your changes to become. Then once you rewire your brain to accept what
you have learned, you must always remain vigilant for new learning
opportunities and subjects – that is being learning based for the rest of your
life. It IS the lesson of this Nugget!
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