In times of uncertainty, when everything seems to change too quickly, it’s natural to feel a bit off balance. When faced with unpredictable events, whether it’s the economy, our careers, personal lives, or even global events, in these moments we need a strong inner resilience. We can’t always control what’s going on, but we can control how we handle it. As the saying goes,
“We can’t control the wind, but we can adjust our sails!”
What’s a solution? Master resilience: build good habits to weather life’s storms. Strong, healthy habits enhance our ability to bounce back from tough times. Healthy habits act as anchors, keeping us steady even when the waters are rough. Let’s explore how we can cultivate these habits together, turning them into reliable supports for navigating life’s uncertainties.
Why Good Strong Habits Are So Important
Now, let’s consider why these healthy habits matter more now than ever. We’re living in times where uncertainty seems to be the new normal. The global pandemic shook us all, reminding us how quickly life can change. And even as we move forward, other uncertainties loom. Our media is adept at keeping us informed about economic shifts, political upheaval, cultural clashes, and the threat of contagious diseases that could trigger another pandemic, reminding us that significant change is constantly looming. It’s easy for us to feel overwhelmed, and when we’re overwhelmed, our habits often take a hit.
But this is precisely when we need our healthy habits the most. They’re not only about staying in shape and eating right, but also about keeping our minds and emotions healthy. Having good habits gives us the strength to face challenges head-on and not let them ruin us. They give us the strength to keep pushing forward, even when we’re unsure of the way.
Let’s look at three reasons to have solid healthy habits established when uncertain times hit us:
Stress Management:
When we’re stressed, we tend to ditch our healthy habits. For example, we might skip workouts, eat junk food, stay up late, and watch mind-numbing entertainment. But healthy habits can really help us handle stress better. Take exercise as an example – it releases endorphins, which helps us relieve stress. Good food equals feeling good and energized. Getting enough sleep is super important for our body and mind to heal. Meditating chills out our mind and body, lowering stress hormones like cortisol. It can make us feel more relaxed, even when things get tough.
Maintaining A Positive Mindset:
Uncertainty can lead to negative thinking, which can spiral into anxiety and depression if we’re not careful. Want a positive mindset? Start by being grateful. It helps us to focus on the good things in life and trains our brains to notice positives, so we keep things in perspective. Another great habit is staying connected with loved ones as it provides emotional support, reduces feelings of isolation, and offers different perspectives on our challenges. Regularly engaging in activities we love can keep our spirits high, providing a sense of purpose and accomplishment to counter stress and uncertainty.
Adapting To Change:
When things are up in the air, we gotta roll with the punches. Adapting is easier when we have a solid foundation of healthy habits, including effective time management and a commitment to regular continuous learning. Having good time management habits helps us stay on top of things and not get too stressed out, especially when we have new responsibilities or our schedule gets messed up. By nurturing a habit of lifelong learning keeps our minds flexible and open to new ideas. This can make us more adaptable when faced with new situations or challenges.
Our habits become a familiar routine we can rely on, even when everything else is changing.
It’s not always easy to develop these habits, especially when life gets crazy. We’ve all made those promises to ourselves, you know, like “I’ll start tomorrow” or “Next week for sure,” but then we just keep doing the same old thing. This is where James Clear’s book, “Atomic Habits,” can really come in handy.
The Four Laws
“Atomic Habits” by James Clear is all about how small changes can make a big difference. The book is split into four main laws of behavior change, giving us a roadmap for forming good habits and ditching bad ones. The gist of the four laws are:
- Make the desired habits obvious and our undesired habits invisible. Let’s say we want to drink more water; a simple way to achieve this is by placing a filled water bottle on our desk each morning so the desired habit is in front of us most of the time. If we’re trying to cut back on social media, we can remove those apps from our home screen so we don’t see the opportunity as frequently- the “out of sight and out of mind” idea.
- Make the desired habit attractive. We’re more likely to stick with habits that we like. We don’t have to make our habits inherently fun, but we can combine them with something enjoyable. So, for instance, we could save our favorite podcast and only listen to it while we take our morning two-mile walk.
- Make the desired habit easy. The easier a habit is, the more likely we’ll keep doing it. So, if we’re aiming to eat healthier, we can prep our meals in advance so the healthier choice becomes the easier choice.
- Make the desired habit satisfying. We tend to do stuff again if it feels good. Clear suggests using habit trackers or creating a visual representation of our progress. Maybe we use a simple calendar to mark off days when we’ve completed our habit building behavior, or we keep a journal to reflect on how we feel after sticking to our routine.
Action Steps:
So, what’s the secret to forming and sticking with these healthy habits, especially when things get rough? Clear presents six strategic principles:
#1 Start Small
Clear emphasizes the power of tiny changes. Instead of stressing about completely changing our lives overnight, it’s better to focus on making small, doable changes that we can stick to. If we set small, doable goals, we won’t get overwhelmed and burn out. For instance, we can start by drinking one more glass of water every day or walking an extra 500 steps each day. These small changes are easy to make and can become a regular part of our routine.
The power of starting small lies in its simplicity and sustainability. Making little changes gives us a sense of accomplishment and keeps us moving forward. When these small habits become automatic, they create a strong platform for larger transformations.
#2 Systems Not Goals
Understanding this concept can shift our entire thinking of habits and goals, so let’s dive deeply into this section. Clear stresses the significance of focusing on systems instead of goals. He argues that focusing on systems (the regular, repeatable actions or habits) is better for long-term success than setting goals alone. He sees goals as the endpoints, and systems as the path to get there. Think of it this way: goals are like destinations on a map, while systems are the roads we travel to get there. Instead of constantly looking at the destination (our goal), we should focus on the journey (our system). Why? Because the journey is what actually gets us there. By consistently following our system, we naturally progress towards our goal. Even if we don’t reach the exact goal we set, we’ve still made progress and developed valuable positive habits along the way.
For example, let’s imagine our goal is to write an 80,000 word book on a foodie’s quest to discover the strangest dishes on earth. The main point is not to obsess over the outcome of producing a book. Instead, we should prioritize the processes, the daily habits and routines that will gradually guide us towards achieving the writing goal. Let’s say we start by committing to writing 700 words daily, even if what we write is not related to the book, like say a poem or a journal entry. This helps us build the writing habit. It’s all about the habit.
Writing daily not only increases our writing skills but also helps us to increase the stamina needed to increase the daily word count. Before long, we could comfortably write 2,000 to 3,000 words per day and enjoy it. If the publishing house turns us down, we’ll just switch gears and write something else. Our writing habits are now solid, so another project will be a breeze. If we were only focused on the goal of writing a specific book and not on the process of developing good writing habits, we’d probably give up and consider it a failure. Habits help us pivot when the goal needs to change. The main thing is to set up habits that support the goal we want to achieve.
#3 Identity-Based Habits
One of James Clear’s most impactful concepts is identity-based habits, which shift our focus from what we want to achieve to who we want to become. So instead of saying “I want to write a book,” we say “I’m a writer.” This approach is powerful because it aligns our habits with our self-image. When we see ourselves as a writer, we’re more likely to do things that support that identity, like taking classes to learn the craft of writing or joining a writing group. Switching from outcome-based goals to identity-based habits makes our routines stick better.
Plus, habits based on who we are help us make lasting changes by becoming part of who we are. When we focus on who we’re becoming instead of just what we want, we feel more purposeful and committed. This approach can help us stay on track and feel more connected to what we want to achieve. With this strategy, we’ll be more resilient and able to keep up with our habits, even when things get tough.
#4 Habit Stacking
According to Clear, habit stacking is when you add a new habit to an existing one. This method relies on a consistent routine to anchor a new behavior. If we’re already making coffee every morning, we could easily start a new habit of writing one thing we’re grateful for in a journal during the brewing time. Make the new habit a natural part of your routine by tying it to something you already do.
This strategy is effective because it takes advantage of your current habits. Since we are already used to doing the routine habit, it acts as a cue for us to practice the new behavior. Eventually, the new habit just becomes part of our routine because it’s linked to the old habit. Habit stacking makes building new habits way easier. We don’t need reminders or a ton of willpower.
#5 The Two-Minute Rule
The “Two-Minute Rule” is a handy trick for getting past the initial struggle of forming new habits. The idea is to scale down any new habit until it can be completed in two minutes or less. This approach helps us overcome the resistance of starting something new. Suppose we have an interest in keeping a more organized home. Start by dedicating 2 minutes daily to assigning a place for one thing. Wanna give meditation a shot? Start with two minutes of deep breathing.
This rule lowers the bar and gains momentum by starting with a small step. Once we regularly start doing it, it gets easier to gradually increase the time or effort. By breaking things down into bite-sized actions, we’ll feel more confident and less overwhelmed. Eventually, these little steps add up and make a big difference in forming lasting habits.
#6 Never Miss Twice
If we want to stay consistent with our habits, we gotta remember the “Never Miss Twice” rule, according to James Clear. The idea is that while it’s okay to slip up occasionally, it’s important not to let a single lapse turn into a pattern of missed habits. If we miss a workout, no worries! Just jump back into it the next day. This rule stops one failure from messing up our routine and keeps us on track.
When we adopt the “Never Miss Twice” mindset, we become stronger and show our commitment to our habits. Missing a day is not the end of the world, but allowing it to become a habit can undermine our progress. The key is to bounce back quickly so we can keep up with our routine even when things get tough. This is an effective way to form habits, where consistency is key and small setbacks don’t stop us from making progress.
Wrap Up
To sum it up, a key to staying on track during uncertain times is to establish and stick to a consistent routine. Healthy habits act as our anchors, offering stability when everything else feels unpredictable. If we focus on minor changes and use strategies like starting small, systems not goals, identity-based habits, habit stacking, and the Two-Minute Rule, we’re on our way to long-term success. These approaches not only help us handle stress and adapt to the uncertainties, but also gives us a sense of control and bounce-back-ability in the face of difficult circumstances.
What habits do you want to have? Need help creating good habits or changing behaviors you’re not proud of? Consider Dawn of Changes coaching.