As it turns out, habit forming is a complex science. Books have been written on the subject and scholars consulted for centuries; there is all too little understanding of this process. But recently, researchers have made some genuine strides into understanding the psychology of habit forming, the good kind that is. And, the sky’s the limit once adopted.

What the experts recommend, and I’m simplifying it here, is what they call “chunking”. That is, take a desired habit and set a “low bar” for achievement of that goal… to start.

Let’s take drinking 4 glasses of water a day as your goal.

That’s a good goal, right?

The first week, your “chunk” is drink one (extra) glass each day.

Then … celebrate the win. Go ahead, do it champ. It feels good. Parade around, sing ,dance. The more the better.

The following week set the bar at

two glasses and repeat the celebration part.

And the next week… well …..you get it

These little wins have a pretty dramatic effect on our sub-conscious and result in the release of Dopamine, the happy neurotransmitter. Thus the habit becomes established as a feel good action and is reinforced by our brain.

The creation of systems beats goals in that this is a tool, rather than a single act. As stated, one discipline leads to another… and so on... as you gain mastery over those bad habits and create more good habits reaping the rewards along the way.

Sincerely,