A healthy lifestyle is really just a series of habits that are health-promoting. While the concept is simple, applying it into our lives in a way that is routine and sustainable isn’t always easy. We understand that and are here to offer a couple of straightforward solutions to the age-old behavior change challenge! Once you try these professional life hacks for yourself, you will find that you don’t have to rely on the next big fad or fleeting motivation to get you energized in your wellness journey. Rather, you will be able to dig into your “toolkit” and pull out these notable strategies that have been proven to work.
But first, you may be thinking, “How can I possibly add to my already busy schedule?” This can create a sense of overwhelm, and quickly cause us to give up on the action or goal before we even get started! Enter: Replace, not remove mentality and habit stacking.
Replace, not Remove.
You’ve been here before, trying to live a healthier life, sticking to it for a couple of weeks, only to lose steam before any real change is apparent, and quickly returning to the behaviors that aren’t serving you. This time around, let’s approach things differently. If you could replace or add onto habits and behaviors you are already doing, would this help you? Research shows that this principle builds confidence in your ability to follow through. Think of it as a wardrobe transformation: we let go of the clothes that no longer serve us and replace them with something better, or alternately, add an accessory to jazz it up. Now, how can we use these same approaches in our desire to have a healthier lifestyle?
- Using the replace not remove principle, we substitute a behavior that is keeping you from your goals with one that draws you closer to your best you. All habits address certain needs in your life, and for that reason, you can swap ones that don’t elevate you and add other habits that satisfy that same need.
- For example, if you eat sweets when you get stressed, then it’s a bad plan to “just stop eating sweets” when stress happens. Instead, you should come up with a different way to manage stress and replace the stress eating with the new coping strategy.
Our tips:
- Choose a substitute for your unhealthy habit, and plan ahead. If you know TV time is code for mindless snacking on sweet or salty snacks, make sure you have healthier alternatives at the ready (ex., 1 cup grapes—freeze them for a fun treat + and 10 almonds; 1 apple and 1 tablespoon nut butter; 1 cup yogurt with 1 teaspoon pumpkin seeds and ¼ cup berries).
- Cut out as many triggers as possible. Change your environment and you can change the outcome. For instance, room color and lighting, the clutter and noise around us, the people with whom we choose to interact—all these external factors can make a big impact on our feelings and behaviors.
- Plan for setbacks. Slipping up doesn’t make you a bad person—it makes you human. Don’t beat yourself up. Get back on track as soon as possible, and re-frame these events as opportunities to learn, grow, and improve.
Habit Stacking
This behavior change principle links actions together to create upgraded routines.
- You can do this by identifying a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. Your new behavior then becomes another habit upon which you can build more positive behaviors.
- Meet Gloria…Gloria has a current habit of having one cup of black coffee each morning. Gloria has been wanting to try meditation to help her feel a sense of calm as she begins her workday. As Gloria drinks her coffee, she is going to do five minutes of guided meditation. These two habits now form together to create a new routine. Once Gloria feels confident that she can sustain this routine, she can stack on another new habit. Now, let’s help YOU get stacking!
Our tips:
- Don’t try all your behaviors at once. Focus on different areas of your day one at a time.
- Start with a solid foundation around which you can stack habits—a behavior or habit that you already do without even having to think about it. For instance, in the example of Gloria drinking her coffee at the start of each day, since she already engages in that behavior each morning, she stacks the first new habit (5 minutes of guided meditation) along with her morning cup of Joe.
- Start small. We are much more likely to engage in a behavior if it involves simple and small steps. Let’s say you also want to introduce meditation into your day: instead of starting with 40 minutes of silent meditations, begin with a 1- or 2-minute breathing exercise. This way, you get your brain used to the new behavior without making things too hard to sustain.
Use the principles of behavior replacement and stacking as additions to what you’re already doing! We encourage you to go at your own pace and be mindful about how you can incorporate changes that are accessible, enjoyable, and that you could keep doing without causing you stress.
Ready to get started?
Let’s peek into your life and explore ways to upgrade!
- Do you have a new habit that you want to form, or an old one you want to restart?
- Are there places in your life that you could add onto or replace existing habits with new ones?
Use the following ideas as inspiration of action steps you can incorporate into your life:
- Consider joining a friend for a walk rather than a coffee: exercise + connection!
- Catch up on the day with a loved one while you prep dinner together!
- Brew some passion tea served in a fancy glass–swap it for alcoholic drinks.
- Watch your favorite show while you foam roll or stretch once or twice a week.
