The AAA way to behaviour change
The one constant in our lives is change. It is almost overstated.
Change is a constant for organisations too. Technology, software, ideas are all changing at speed and organisations ignore these at their peril.
Change: to make something (or someone) different, modified, newer or better. Actions that lead to better outcomes. At a level deeper that means (intentional) behaviour change at the individual and collective level (organisations).
And behaviour change can be hard. This week my focus is on individual behaviour change , the ‘driver’ of change.
And I know that change is ‘easier’ when we know why something needs to change. And for me, the why comes from our future self: who we want to become in the future.
Which is why I would add another item to B J Fogg’s, authour of Tiny Habits, 3 ways to change:
1. Have an epiphany
2. Change environment
3. Change habits
4. Future self
I introduce my simple 3-step future-proofing process, the AAA way, for behaviour change and new habit formation:
1. AWARENESS
We are autopilot creatures as I have mentioned many times before. Our brains, to save energy, automate as much as it can making us ‘robotic’. Just last week as I got ready for my run, I walked around my home looking for my glasses which were in my hand all the time! I have a set of things I do on autopilot, to get ready for my run. And yesterday, as I got ready, I grabbed my glasses and headed for the door. But my brain did not register me picking up the glasses. It (my brain) made me look for my glasses (again) as I got to the door. I snapped out of my fog when I eventually saw the glasses in my hand! I muttered ‘Yoga!’ under my breath. I was distracted by thoughts of work that morning and I became more present (aware) after the incident.
This happens to all of us. This is why awareness, getting off autopilot, is the key first step in behaviour change.
2. ATTENTION
Attention is zooming in on specifics within our awareness. As in the case of my glasses, I had to stop and become conscious, fully ‘present’! Attention is pausing and engaging our cognition on the specifics. It was only when I became fully ‘present’ did my brain ‘tell’ me that my glasses were in my hand. By bringing my attention to my body, zooming in on my hand.
Again, most of us can relate to this. Sadly, in Malaysia, there are growing incidents of ‘stressed’ parents ‘forgetting’ their child in the car whilst running errands sometimes with fatal consequences. Autopilot can be dangerous.
Time, to many of us, may feel like our most precious resource. It ISN’T. Neuroscience research shows that our attention is our most precious resource. And I agree.
3. ACTION
For behaviour change to ‘activate’ we need to implement our findings from our awareness and attention.
Here, I will use an example of my friend whose future self is lighter and healthier. She of course knew that food was a key part of her future self. First, awareness, she made a list of everything she put in her mouth during a typical day. This was eye-opening for her. Until she wrote it down, as she did it, she was not aware of it. Hello, autopilot!
Next, she zoomed in on what she would like to eliminate. No more snacking in between meals was her first focus. To make life easier she focused her attention on her home environment. An environment she had control over.
She made a mental note to not buy any more snacks for her home and gave away existing snacks and foods that did not match her future self’s dietary requirements!
These were the small actions she took towards her dietary behaviour change. With time, she zoomed in to making more conscious dietary changes driven by her future self.
No change can happen without conscious action(s) driven by the findings from our awareness and attention.
And behaviours repeated over time become habits. Habits are non-conscious behaviours. We don’t need to think about them anymore.
So, who is your future self – who do you want to become? This should guide your awareness, attention and action!
As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com