The Power of Habits: Reflections from a Mompreneur

The Power of Habits

Just yesterday, I finished reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. It is an awesome read with real world examples in various fields about how habits and goals, habits and outcomes, habits and ones life, align.

As a mompreneur I thought what bad habits do I have that I need to change in order to improve my personal or business life. The first thing I thought about is the fact that I am a yeller. Bad quality, I know.  I don't yell all the time but if the kids don't listen my voice does go up several decibals. This is a quality I have never liked in myself and one that I would like to change.

Bad Habits Can Be Broken

After reading The Power of Habit, I decided that yelling is just a bad habit and all habits can be broken...YES ALL BAD HABITS CAN BE BROKEN. I can change and so can you.

How you ask? Well according to Duhigg I must dissect my bad habit, analyze it from various perspectives and figure the cue, routine, and rewards associated with the malady. Then address each separately.

So let's see, my habit of yelling...what is the cue?......my having to repeat myself and a child not listening to my instruction......what is my routine or to put it another way, what do I usually do as a response?.....well, I yell and what now is the reward?....the child listens. Bad cycle.

So, I will adjust. The cue may be the same in this instance but the routine and rewards are going to be different.

I will now count to 10 forward and backward and then take 3 deep breaths whenever I feel that I am going to yell at my child. The reward for doing this will be a sticker...I will give myself a sticker in my planner when I have had a no yelling day.  It sounds corny, but it works for me, find what works for you.

A New Habit

I will instruct my child that she has a choice to listen or not but if she chooses not to then she has to be able to deal with the consequences. Thus, I will no longer look at her listening as my reward because ultimately she has to endure the consequences of any decision, whether positive or negative. In this way, we are all empowered.

Habits whether or good or bad are maleable we just have to make the decision to erradicate the bad ones and work on implementing the good ones.

What bad habits do you want to eliminate from your life? What good ones do you hope to encourage? Let us know below and remember to subscribe to this blog so we can share, grow, and learn together.