There was one project in our cognitive science class where we had to design an intervention for a personal behaviour we wanted to change. I chose to change the way I woke up every day (because who doesn’t want to start the day right?).
At the time, I had the habit of going back to bed after I hit the alarm. Terrible habit, yes. Changeable, yes.
I started to put my phone on the floor on the other side of my room, right where the door was. This was because I feel much more awake after brushing my teeth. All I thought I needed to do was to get out of my room right after the alarm, instead of back into bed. That, and a cup of coffee afterwards.
It worked for the most part, up until I had to move back home where the environment was different.
We all have habits that shape who we are and how we operate. We can choose to live on autopilot and let our natural tendencies lead the way, or we can thoughtfully put in the effort to intervene where we think we should.
Nobody’s perfect, but habits are shiftable.
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