1
00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

2
00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:14,120
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

3
00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,160
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to build habits by appealing to who

4
00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,880
Speaker 1: you want to be. I know many listeners of this

5
00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,800
Speaker 1: podcast think a lot about habit formation for good reason.

6
00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,000
Speaker 1: In many ways, habits and routines are the building blocks

7
00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,559
Speaker 1: of life. Habits make good choices effortless, and let the

8
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,760
Speaker 1: power of small winds add up. Of course, one reason

9
00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,519
Speaker 1: people are obsessed with habits is that for many of us,

10
00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:46,240
Speaker 1: forming and maintaining them is a struggle. We have big ambitions,

11
00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,000
Speaker 1: but stuff doesn't stick. We know, for example, that walking

12
00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,080
Speaker 1: ten thousand steps a day would be a good way

13
00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,680
Speaker 1: to improve our health, but we just can't see how

14
00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,840
Speaker 1: it might fit into our lives. One way to deal

15
00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:01,040
Speaker 1: with this disconnect create how bits that are based on

16
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,640
Speaker 1: your desired identity. Try to complete the following sentence, I

17
00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,319
Speaker 1: want to be the type of person who fill in

18
00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,760
Speaker 1: the blank. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, refers to

19
00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:17,240
Speaker 1: this as the practice of creating identity based habits. For example,

20
00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:19,679
Speaker 1: you might decide that you want to be the type

21
00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,520
Speaker 1: of person who runs every day, the habit that follows

22
00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,320
Speaker 1: is clear you have a daily running habit. You can

23
00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,360
Speaker 1: also build off a broader identity statement, such as I

24
00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:31,560
Speaker 1: want to be the type of person who puts family first.

25
00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:35,759
Speaker 1: Many potential habits could follow from this, such as shutting

26
00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,800
Speaker 1: down your work by six pm or making time daily

27
00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,440
Speaker 1: to eat breakfast with your kids. With this line of thinking,

28
00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,759
Speaker 1: you're getting to the deeper y of a habit before

29
00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,560
Speaker 1: you start on the behavior. When you have the why,

30
00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,360
Speaker 1: it can be easier to commit to the habit and

31
00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:53,520
Speaker 1: to becoming more like the person you'd like to be.

32
00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,760
Speaker 1: It may take a while before your identity statement is realized,

33
00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,640
Speaker 1: but if you keep reminding yourself that I'm the kind

34
00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,080
Speaker 1: of person who wakes up at six am to exercise,

35
00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,280
Speaker 1: you'll have some explaining to do to yourself when you

36
00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,040
Speaker 1: set the alarm for eight. Of course, when you think

37
00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:13,000
Speaker 1: about it, maybe you don't buy into the identity you're describing.

38
00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,560
Speaker 1: An upside of this identity based habit strategy is that

39
00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,240
Speaker 1: it gives you permission to ditch habits that don't resonate

40
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,919
Speaker 1: with you. If you start saying, I'm a person who meditates,

41
00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:27,239
Speaker 1: so then you realize, well, you don't see this as

42
00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:31,800
Speaker 1: you fine. Upon giving it a little thought, you'll probably

43
00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,200
Speaker 1: know in your gut whether or not you have a

44
00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,600
Speaker 1: solid reason for pursuing a given habit. In the end,

45
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:43,000
Speaker 1: when you know why you're doing something, habits become a

46
00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,320
Speaker 1: little bit less of a struggle and feel more like

47
00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:51,640
Speaker 1: little victories. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

48
00:02:52,000 --> 00:03:01,280
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

49
00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:03,640
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

50
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,320
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

51
00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,720
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

52
00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,800
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

53
00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,480
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

54
00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,440
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

55
00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,079
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

56
00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:35,480
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

57
00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,960
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

58
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,960
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

59
00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:44,360
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.