Self-development through Discipline, the Art of Mastering Healthy Habits: Do’s, Don’ts, Tips and Tricks, Part 1
We covered several core principles that can help you along your fitness journey: harnessing the right fitness mindset, mental health, motivation, inspiration and even self-care. So, how can these concepts be mastered? Well, one solution is habits. If done right, like mindfulness, good habits (mindless acts) also promote and sustain wellness. Hence, this post is Part 1 of a 2-part series that looks at developing and maintaining holistic health using habits.
Click to pin to Pinterest
Habits vs motivation
Action, especially in fitness, requires some form of motivation; however, motivation is not the end all and be all. Motivation should be complemented with learnt automatic behaviours (i.e. habits).
Why?
Given that motivation comes and goes, we need something stronger to get us to accomplish our fitness goals.
This is where discipline comes in.
To develop discipline for the journey and harness our full potential, we need to form habits.
What are habits?
According to authors Asaf Mazar (a behavioural scientist) and Wendy Wood (a social psychologist), habits are repeated unconscious, seemingly automatic behaviours that are tied to a reward system and specific contexts (defined by time, location or a situation).
Essentially, “What you repeatedly do (i.e. what you spend time thinking about and doing each day) ultimately forms the person you are, the things you believe, and the personality that you portray.” James Clear, author of Atomic Habits.
The habit formula
Why is it mindless, and how does it come about?
Well, based on the theory, four main elements constitute habitual behaviour:
Cues are known as triggers or reminders that prompt an action (the routine) that creates a reward. And if repeated often forms a habit.
For me, getting dressed in workout gear is one cue I have used, for years, in the morning to get me to exercise. In this scenario, the habit formula is as follows:
CUE =
Getting dressed
ROUTINE =
Exercising
REWARD =
How I feel after I exercise
REPETITION=
Act repeated for years
All habits are or have routines, but not all routines are habits. Some routines are subject to change based on several factors, such as moving to a new location or the weather. However, habits are a little more fixed and may require purposeful acts to un-do the need to carry out the act.
The beginning of good habit formation
First and foremost, I believe that cues and rewards vary widely because everyone is different.
TIP #1
Get solutions that work for YOU. There is no one-size-fits-all approach in the pursuit of holistic health. Some things would work for one, while it may not be effective for another. Find what works for you.
Secondly, in most habitual fitness activities, benefits derived are either immediate or earned over a long time.
DON’T #1
It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon. Do not expect immediate satisfaction. Let’s get away from the microwave mentality. Remember, the goal, in the end, is sustainable holistic fitness.
Thirdly, it starts with knowing yourself.
What are your values, your needs, the overall state of your well-being and your aspirations?
Yes, these are difficult questions to answer, but the best way to start this journey is with truth. To paraphrase motivational speaker Les Brown, you will keep getting more of what you have been getting if you keep doing more of what you have been doing. Thus, for change to occur and to last, a lifestyle adjustment is required.
This is definitely, one thing I wish I knew when I started.
Prerequisite #1 - 'Finding your why'
In the post Avoiding and Overcoming the Proverbial Wall: Do’s, Don’ts, Tips and Tricks for Finding your Why/Goal, ‘WHY‘ is defined as the declaration of an attainable goal (or goals) and the associated energy you direct towards its (their) accomplishment.
Put plainly, WHAT DO YOU WANT? And, HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?
What is driving your decision to change?
Task #1
Take a pause right now and write down 5 fitness goals you have for your life. Then next to each explain why you want these goals.
Prerequisite #2 - The power of self
Your physical state, your social interactions, your mentality, your emotions, your spirituality and your environment are a reflection of your ‘self’. All of which, in some form or fashion, directly influences your thoughts and actions – whether they are mindful or mindless. Hence, being in tune with these elements will determine the success of developing healthy, sustainable habits.
Think about it, how can we devise a plan for ourselves without confronting ourselves?
Truly accepting your ‘self’ will allow you to identify your strengths, weaknesses, possible opportunities and potential threats.
SWOT: A personal self-assessment
Task #2
Let’s perform a SWOT analysis.
I know this topic is usually reserved for companies, but I felt like this was a great way to conduct a thorough self-awareness check-up.
Imagine you are an organization under study.
The SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) framework was first introduced in the 1960s by Albert Humphrey (a business consultant).
S and W focus on your strengths and your vulnerabilities, respectively. This basically addresses where you are now. While O focuses on external situations that you can use to your advantage. And T relates to obstacles that may hamper your progress. Thus, O and T showcase where you can improve by taking chances or overcoming risks, respectively.
What do you do well? and/or What assets do you have at your disposal?
Where do you need to improve?/or what don’t you do well? and/or What are your limits (assets)?
What external factors are present that can benefit you?
What external factors are hindering your development?
Key tips and tricks I used to do my self-assessment
TRICK #1
Consider your responses in the context of 6 elements of your life: physical, social, mental, emotional and spiritual state and your environment.
TIP #2
Be honest. This process is for your self-development, so don’t hold back.
DON’T #2
Do not limit your responses. Again, it’s your personal self-assessment, be as comprehensive as you can.
For my preliminary analysis, I’ll use snips from my website:
my About Me page
“It’s 10 years later, I have completed 35 races, gained and lost weight, and recently found my inner yogi. I am not a certified trainer, nor am I a nutritionist, but I have learnt a few things over the years. So here I am taking the plunge and sharing what I’ve learnt thus far.”
“Strength training remained, but I formed a new appreciation for cardio-based, stability and flexibility activities. At this stage, most of my leisure time was dedicated to training. It was tasking physically and mentally, but it allowed me to really learn how to compartmentalize my life without compromising my social life. I also work full-time, so accomplishing a healthy balance was a challenge at first.”
Blog post: Building the Right Fitness Mindset
“I was about to achieve my first PR. Guess what happened?! I was stupid enough to doubt myself. Rookie mistake! So, after all that time, energy and money, I allowed myself to believe I couldn’t, even after I did all the work to accomplish it.”
Blog post: Self-care, the Best of 3 Worlds in Fitness
“In summary, 79% of my active hours (19 hours) were spent exercising or working and only 21% was spent resting (during my lunch break and sleeping). It’s simple; the answer is no. … At that point in my life, I was as the saying goes burning both ends of the candle.”
Using this information alone, I believe the following table best describes my strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats:
3 STRENGTHS
Decade of experience in fitness
Adventurous
Results-driven
3 WEAKNESSESS
Perfectionist
Over-worked, hence more prone to injuries
Occasionally, susceptible to self-doubt
3 OPPORTUNITIES
Outdoor and gym facilities
Learning new skills
Help beginner fitness enthusiasts
3 THREATS
COVID-19 persists
Injuries
Change in environment
Remember to be honest. Using this analysis properly could help create a better picture of your current and future needs and what is helping or deterring you from meeting those needs.
Also, note my assessment was not at all comprehensive. It was merely to demonstrate how the SWOT framework works and highlight the potential benefits of the exercise.
DO #1
Try a self-awareness test. Don’t stop here, there are lots of other self-awareness tests available.
Using self-awareness to identify, adjust and create habits
Now that you have conducted your self-assessment, it’s easier to determine what behaviours are contributing and/or hindering your development.
Once you have this answer, it’s time to devise a plan to minimize and eventually eliminate the bad habits and nurture and develop the good habits.
Learn how in my next blog, Self-development through Discipline, the Art of Mastering Healthy Habits: Do’s, Don’ts, Tips and Tricks, Part 2.
Takeaways
What/ Who is contributing positively to your holistic development? Or, what or who is not?
To establish or even plan what habits you want to add to your life, you must first establish the habits you want to keep, second decide which habits you want to throw away and third choose the habits you want to develop.
This is where self-awareness comes in.
Too often, the value of being self-aware is overlooked for more vain and temporary surface changes. But I employ you to consider these do’s, don’ts, tips and tricks before taking the plunge.
DO a self-assessment test
DON’T expect immediate satisfaction
TIP get solutions that work for you
TRICK ensure your self-assessment considers these 6 elements of your life: physical, social, mental, emotional and spiritual state and your environment
Related Posts
Resources
Mazar, Asaf, and Wendy Wood. 2018. “Defining Habit in Psychology.” PsyArXiv. November 9. doi:10.31234/osf.io/kbpmy. (Available online here: https://psyarxiv.com/kbpmy/)
Wood, Wendy. Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick. London: Macmillan, 2019.