A series of blog posts on the small steps you can take to build a life you love. Read Part 1 on ‘Good-Work Life Balance’ and Part 2 ‘Mental Resilience and Well-being’.
This is week three of our exploration of the simple steps we can all take, to craft a life we love. I feel it would be remiss of me not to talk about good physical health as one of the ingredients needed to build a life you love, when I dedicated a post to good mental health; the two go hand-in-hand. Everyone knows the importance of staying fit and well, so I won’t rehash that argument. Instead I want to give you one hack that will have you staying consistent in your physical well-being journey.
‘PHYSICAL FITNESS AND WELL-BEING’
I’ve never really been a fan of ‘exercise’ – I hate sweating and I think I look ridiculous in active wear. Over the years I have kept fairly physically active through engaging in activities I love, like dancing (Zumba is the best thing that happened to exercise. Fact) and walking (I’m the kind of person who thinks a 4hr-long walk is a stroll). However, if anyone had told me that I would go running three times a week, in broad daylight in summer, looking ludicrous in my work out clothes and sweating like a little piglet…I would have called them crazy!
The one hack that has helped me stick to this exercise regime? I have made it a habit!
Our brains love a good hack. They are constantly looking for ways to automate our behaviour – to save them from spending unnecessary time or energy deliberating what to do. This is why we develop habits – a routine of behaviour that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously..1 Habits are shortcuts to help us reach our goals more efficiently.
Think about some habits you have for e.g. eating a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream after a stressful day at work (or was that just me?). I never really had to think about doing it. Even if I had a healthy meal already prepared at home or was going out to dinner with a friend, I would still without fail get myself that tub of ice-cream…it was the only thing that ‘scratched the itch’. There was no active thinking involved for me to engage in that behaviour, I just did it. And that’s where we want to get to, with our physical activity or exercise.
Here’s how we do it (based on the three part process for habit formation):
- The Cue/Stimulus
This is a trigger that encourages a particular behaviour. It could be an object, a feeling, an event, a particular environment etc. In my example, a stressful day at work (emotion) was the cue.
We can set up cues that help us exercise. We plan where and when we want to exercise. We choose a time and place that we encounter on the days/at the times we want to exercise. We are consistent – everytime we encounter that ‘cue’, we exercise. This has to be non-negotiable.
When I first started running, I would put my work out clothes next to my bed the night before. They were the first thing I saw when I woke up, and became the ‘cue’ to go running. For you, it may be ‘the theme tune to your favourite soap’ that cues you to exercise while you watch, or the weekly phone call with a friend becomes the cue to go for a walk while you talk.
- The Routine/Behaviour
This is the defined routine that your brain engages in when it encounters the cue or stimulus. Stress was my cue to drive to the supermarket and get some ice cream (behaviour) or getting dressed and going for a run when I saw my work out clothes.
- The Reward
This is the outcome that you achieve after engaging in the behaviour. Often it is a positive outcome that your brain likes. Hence, it remembers the habit loop and wants to repeat it over and over again to achieve that effect.
Eating ice-cream helped me feel better emotionally, so I wanted to repeat the behaviour everytime I encountered stress. Going on the run gave me an endorphin rush, and a sense of achievement because I was fulfilling a goal, so I wanted to repeat it.
We are often so focused on the behaviour (physical activity or exercise) that we ignore things like the cues and rewards that will help us make said behaviour a habit.
Recently, I realised that my brain had developed an automatic link (a habit) between my sitting to watch TV at night (the cue) with eating (the behaviour) which made me feel good (the reward). Unfortunately in my case, it has become a bad habit, where I overeat snacks every time I sit watching TV for longer than an hour. This happens every time, without fail! Despite the fact that I am aware of this habit and even when I tell myself (sternly) not to give in to my cravings for the sugary deliciousness of cookies, popcorn and doughnuts.
But how cool is it that we can train our brains to make the same automatic links, to do something positive like physical activity?
Think carefully about what cues and what rewards you can incorporate into your life to help you stay consistent with your physical fitness goals. Remember the cues should be encountered at the frequency you want to exercise and engaging in exercise is non-negotiable. And think of a lovely reward to encourage the behaviour – a cup of your favourite coffee, a delicious smoothie or an hour of trashy TV…whatever floats your boat. Once you follow this routine for a while, it becomes automatic and exercising regularly will become your new norm. (You can use this hack to build other positive habits!)
Of course there are many other factors that affect our (in)ability to engage in regular physical activity but this is one I think is often overlooked. What do you think? Is habit hacking physical exercise doable? Let me know.
References
- Definition of Habit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habit