三个阶段：改变习惯的秘密It’ssummer.Bynow,you’veeitherbrokenyourNewYear’sresolutionsorsuccessfullyintegratedthemintoyourroutines.Ifyou’reintheformergroup,you’reinluck.Thisisactuallyaterrifictimetocreatenewhabitsortoshedoldones.That’sbecausetheimportantelementsofhabitchangearen’ttiedtoaseason.Moreover,theexperienceoffailingtochangecanactuallygiveyoucrucialinformationthatwillensurevictorythenexttimearound.Forone,it’simportanttobeginthechangeprocesswithwhatsocialscientistscall“pre-contemplation,”orreallythinkingthroughtheprosandconsofyourcurrentsituation,whatiskeepingyouinthebadhabit,andwhatwouldbethebenefitofchanging.Suchthinkinghelpsmakeyouawareoffactorsthatmightholdyouback.“Peopletendtofailbecausetheystartdirectlyinthecontemplatingphase—theyrethinktheirpersonalbeliefs,capabilities,theystartthinking,‘Icandothis,Icanchangejobs,Icanupdatemyresume.’Butwhattheyhaven’tdoneisbecomefullyawareofthecurrentsituationandtheconsequencesofcontinuingwithwhatyou’redoing,”saysSebastianBailey,NewYork-areaauthorofMind-Gym:AchieveMorebyThinkingDifferently.Indeed,ifyouresolvetochangeyourbehavioratatimeofyearwhenyouhavetimetoplan—asopposedtowhentheJan.1deadlineencouragesyoutoimpulsivelymakeresolutions—you’llbebetterpreparedtohandlebumpsintheroad.WhenyouknowwhatmadeyoufalterinyourresolvetostayoffFacebookatwork,forinstance,youcancraftaplantosidestepthatprobleminthefuture.Thisispartofthethirdstageofhabitchange,whichispreparation,accordingtoBailey.InThePowerofHabit,journalistCharlesDuhiggexplainshabitsasacombinationofatriggerorcuethatpromptsustoactinacertainway,followedbyaroutinethatculminatesinarewardwereceivefromengaginginthathabit.Forexample,ifwehaveahabitofeatinganafternoonsnack,thecuemaybeseeingacolleagueheadedforthecafeteria,followedbytheroutineofjoininghimforbiscottiandcoffee,whichgiveustherewardofacaffeineandsugarrush.Onceahabithasbeenestablished,theneuralpathwaysinourbrainassociatedwiththathabitcannotbeeliminated;wecanonlyformnewonesbyreplacingthehabitwithanewroutine.It’simportanttoexamineyourhabitstounderstandwhatyourmotivationis;forinstance,doyouactuallylikethatsugarandcaffeinejolt?Orareyouseekingsocialconnectionduringtheafternoonlull?Thatinsightwillgiveyouthetoolstochangeyourhabits.IfyouhaveahabitofcheckingTwitterwhenyou’reboredatwork,tryinsteadtodoaquicksetofpushups,goforawalk,chatwithaneighbor,readastackofpiled-upjournalarticles,ordoacrosswordpuzzle.WhicheveroftheseactivitieshelpsdistractyoufromTwitterismostcloselyaddressingtheneedyou’retryingtomeetwithasocialmediafix.Thewinningactivityisthebestcandidateforanewroutinethatcanbesandwichedbetweenthecueandthereward,accordingtoDuhigg.Beforeyouleapintohabitchange,Baileyrecommendstakingyourtimeinthepre-contemplation,contemplation,andpreparationstages.Thinkthroughwhatyouneedtododifferently.Youmaydiscoverthatasmallerchangeisbest.Baileysaysheremembersawomanwhowasdyingtofindajobtanothercompany,butwhenshestartedtoexplorehermotivations,sherealizedshewassimplyboredwithherrole.Ifshetookasimilarjobwithadifferentemployer,shewouldlikelybejustasdissatisfied.Instead,thatwomanmadealateralmoveandfoundgreaterjobsatisfactionwithoutlosingtenureormakingadisruptivechangeofemployer.Youneedtoarouseyouremotionsandconnecttothestrongestmotivationyouhavetochange.Perhapsavisualreminderonyourofficewallwillhelpyousticktoyourgoal.Findawaytobelieve...
