Intellectual Imprints #006 - If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change

This is a book I think everyone ought to read, because I believe each and every one of us is interested in either starting a new habit or stopping a bad one. The problem is for me to write about specific aspects of the book, as it is a very systematic, step by step process outlined by BJ Fogg which will make sense only if you go through it end to end.

Nonetheless I’m going to give it a shot… and while the book has so many tools and ideas for one to incorporate into their life I’m just going to introduce this one concept that can give you a sense of what you can expect more of from this book.

So the concept I want to talk about is the ABC of creating behaviour. I have started using this tool almost immediately and it is seemingly very effective…

So let’s look at what the ABC stand for… I am going start with the B  first as that refers to the Behaviour you want to create…

Now the A is what Fogg calls the Anchor habit. This is a daily habit that we are already used to doing. It could be brushing, or using the bathroom, or eating dinner… you get the drift. Now what the book recommends is linking your desired new habit to this anchor habit. So for example if you want to drink a glass of hot water every night, you could anchor it to your eating habit. But not just as generically like have a glass of hot water after dinner. Remember this book goes very granular as it is about tiny habits. So as you put your plate in the sink (your anchor habit) you pull out the cup for your hot water (notice the tiny habit). This will soon flow into your desired behaviour of drinking hot water.

Now coming to the C - that’s when you need to Celebrate on completion of your desired behaviour. This could be any form of celebration from a verbal ‘Yes’ to a fist bump or a mental appreciation of self… what ever you choose this is a key step in firming up your behaviour… I am still trying to incorporate this step but I am sure it will work as effectively as the Anchor.

Like I said before this is just the tip of the iceberg.  This is a book I am even trying to get my twelve year old to read… to quote the book this is your first step to take your habits from tiny to transformative.