I was talking to a friend who was complaining that her toddler son was consuming too much sugar-filled juice. She tried to limit the amount, but he would whine or get it from the pantry himself.
I couldn’t help but think, “Well, stop buying juice.”
That juice-obsessed toddler isn’t going to strap his piggy bank to his back, jump on his hot wheel and go to Publix. If there is no juice in the house, he can’t drink it.
Sometimes the solution to changing a bad habit is simply to MAKE IT INCONVENIENT.
Habits are created because the brain prefers to conserve energy by putting repeated behaviors (good or bad) on autopilot. So, if you make repeating the behavior inconvenient, you have now interrupted your pattern and brought consciousness to the action. In that split second of consciousness, you can make a new choice.
Want to stop mindlessly scrolling social media? Delete the app or move it to the last screen of your phone.
Want to cure your online shopping habit? Don’t save your credit card on your favorite sites. Clear your cache and unsubscribe from marketing emails. (There is a reason Amazon has a “One-Click Buy” button. It works.)
Want to stop drinking that wine or binging on junk food? Toss it from your pantry and don’t keep it in your home.
Want to stop drunk texting your ex? Remove the contact from your phone.
Make it INCONVENIENT to continue these unwanted behaviors. Just as you continued the bad habits because they are easy, you may now find yourself discontinuing bad habits because they now take a lot more effort.
Conversely, if you want to create a good habit, make it EASY.
Want to start exercising? Set out your workout clothes the night before and put your running shoes by the door.
Want to eat healthier? Prep healthy food on Sundays so grabbing them is as convenient as grabbing a bag of chips.
Sometimes we make things too complicated. Simply CHANGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT to make bad habits inconvenient and good habits easy is all you need to do!
Aka, stop buying the damn juice.