Ten Micro-Habits That Can Change Your Life
So…how are we doing with those New Year’s resolutions?
If you are like me and 92% of our fellow Americans, we have abandoned, or are about to abandon the efforts. Many of us will celebrate the unofficial Ban Your Resolution Day on January 17. But let’s not feel bad. We still have options to “improve our game”.
In our last conversation (blog), I referenced the book Atomic Habits written by James Clear. In the book, Clear makes it clear (I just had to do this, but only once) that small changes in habits can have a big impact on our life. His book is 271 pages long and I will only use about 1000 words, so please allow me to share my story to make the point.
OK, are we ready?- Ten micro-habits that can change my/your life-
Park the car away from the door: The first time I did this, I felt like people were watching me. I imagined them asking themselves “Why is this guy parking with the fancy cars?” My car is not fancy, so that would be a legit question. For me, the reason was clear - the farther away I park, the better the opportunity to get my steps in. Honesty alert - I don’t do this when its raining, and no, nobody was watching.
Morning walk - daily: More steps. Walking outside may be the best and easiest habit for our physical and mental health. Just ask any doctor, psychiatrist, or centenarian living in a Blue Zone (look it up). Why morning? It avoids all of the excuses we come up with throughout the day. Alternative times - lunch, or right after dinner. The key is to be consistent. Bonus, according to Andrew Huberman, neuro-scientist from Stanford, pod-caster and really smart guy, the morning walk is great to get sunlight in your eyes which helps balance our circadien rythym (more details for you to research).
Cold shower: I hate this. The last two minutes of my shower ends with a cold water body blast, the coldest that my shower can deliver. Yet I do this every time. Why? The power of hormesis. Exposure to low-level stress can enhance resilience and overall health. It activates protein pathways, improves immune system, shoots up hormone levels, has a positive impact on metabolic pathways and much more, all of which can reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Olive oil on my salad: This is an easy change and more important than one may think. “But I use low-cal Italian one may say.” It’s not the calories. Most commercial salad dressings use soybean oil which tends to be highly processed with a number of health concerns. Olive oil with some Italian seasoning is actually very good for us, and lets the flavor of the salad ingredients come forward.
Switch to almond spread instead of peanut butter: No!!!! Not my Skippy! More label checking - the #2 ingredient is sugar, plus salt and other oils . The ingredient list for freshly made almond spread -roasted almonds.
Wait, stop, hold on, or use whatever conversation stopper that works for you. It may have just occurred to you that these little “micro habits” are not life changing. And to that I respond - you are absolutely right. And I am so glad that we paused this conversation, because it allows me to get to the key point. You are right, none of these habits alone will change your life. But what is life changing is the process that is being developed along the way.
We need a little explanation from Atomic Habits. The process starts with a very important step - who do you want to be, your identity? Please don’t overthink this. For me, at this time in my life, I want to be healthy, happy and live a long life. Our identity emerges out of our habits. The more we repeat a behavior, the more it reinforces our identity. Eventually our habits just fold into our life and become part of a new normal.
Ok, got me a new identity, now what? I love the strategy I learned listening to a podcast featuring a conversation between Peter Attia and James Clear. The concept is called AZB, and based on the position of the letters in the alphabet. A is our current self, our starting point. Z is our future self, who we want to be. And B is the next step on how we get from A to Z. Let’s not worry about the entire path, just focus on the next step. Step B is simply our daily decisions on how we want to live life.
James Clear says, “Our habits shape our identity and our identity shapes our habits”, which he calls the feedback loop. Over time, these small decisions that lead to micro-habits simply become our new normal (life). All except for the cold shower. I will always hate the cold shower. It will never be normal.
Do you remember the WWJD bracelets we wore in the 90’s? It was meant to remind us to make decisions based on what Jesus would do. And regardless of our religious affiliation, it was probably decent direction for anyone wanting to live a “moral” life. Now…replace J with Z and we have WWZD. What would our future self do? Let our new identity influence our decisions. Park in the back, morning walk, switch to olive oil, all simple decisions that Z (future self) would make.
Life becomes an accumulation of the all of the decisions we make on a daily basis. If we want to know what our future self is going to look like, follow the trajectory of the tiny gains or occasional losses of the decisions and micro-habits that are being formed. How close are we getting to Z? Are we making progress?
Personally I love this plan. It is far easier to make a simple decision than keep a resolution, or so the research suggests. Not all decisions will be perfect, but that is ok.
I agree with author John Maxwell when he says “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret to success is found in your daily routine.”
What about the “happy” part of my identity you ask? It is there, just a little harder to see. We should talk about it. Maybe in a future conversation.
Enjoy your day,
Just a little extra-
Hey wait! I promised you 10 micro-habits. I owe you 5 more-
6. Limit sugar intake: I loved my daily breakfast of strawberry greek yogurt with pistachios and
banana. Fact is I loved it so much I knew it was wrong. Yep, 26 grams of sugar. I am
getting used to my plain yogurt with only 2 grams of sugar. I add fresh strawberries.
7. Read before bed: This has had a triple positive affect on my life. I watch less Tv, consume
less social media, and I feel better informed about life. Most healthy sleep strategies
include reading as a wind-down activity for a good night sleep.
8. Restrict eating time: This cheater version of intermittent fasting is very beneficial for most
people and much easier than I thought. I eat between the hours of 10:00am and 6:00pm.
Studies have shown a wide array of health benefits including weight control, improved
cardio-metabolic markers, brain health, and fighting inflammation.
9. Going nuts: Nuts are a good source of good fat and protein. Now my go-to snack.
10. Prayer: I am not a “meditator”. I find prayer to be a wonderful way to focus, reflect on the
day, feel gratitude and provide anxiety relief for my brain.
Ok those are my 10 micro-habits. What are yours? Reminder, it is all about the process.
References
Attia, Peter. January 01,2024.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peter-attia-drive/id1400828889?i=1000640218654
Clear, James. Atomic Habits, the book
Monostra, Michale. December 01,2022. Time-restricted Eating Improves Cardio-metabolic Markers. Endocrine Today