734: 3 Phases of Habit Building You Need to Know

Building (or breaking) a new habit can effectively be broken into 3 different phases, each with its own challenge which can prevent you from reaching the next one - but what are the 3 phases, how can awareness of each one assist you, and is a new habit locked in once you reach the 3rd phase?

What to Listen For

• What are the three phases of efficiently building new habits?
• How long is the “honeymoon” phase of building a new habit and what can you do to ensure you don’t fail immediately after?
• What is the “fight thru” phase of habit building and how can you use knowledge of it to your advantage?
• What 2 simple questions can you ask yourself everyday to keep you on track?
• Why are contingency plans vital to developing and maintaining strong habits?
• How do you make sure the success of building one habit doesn’t lead you to be lazy when it comes to maintaining it?
• AJ explains how you can actually revert back through the phases of habit building if you’re not careful and intentional about continuing to work on them
• Where does self-compassion enter the equation of habit building and how can the lack of it lead you to fail?
• How can habits impede progress toward your larger goals and what can you do to mitigate the interference?
• AJ and Johnny explain how to use regular goal setting, intentional novelty, and the celebration of small victories to compound your development of great habits

Building new habits is an ongoing process that requires your daily attention and effort in order to succeed. When first starting a new habit it can be easy to get caught up in the immediate rewards of progress - notice by friends and coworkers and changes in mood and feeling to give a couple examples. After the first phase, however, it becomes more challenging and it can be easy to fail unless you set your mind to the process.

Finally, once you push through the second phase into the last phase, your job is not over, because now you must work at maintaining the new habit. Set goals to keep challenging yourself, find friends or family to keep you accountable by challenging each other, and introduce novelty in whatever habit you’re trying to maintain to ensure it doesn’t get boring.

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Resources from this Episode

“Habit Formation: The 21-Day Myth” by Jason Selk

Self-esteem is Bullshit (Episode 729)

Master Your Mindset with David Goggins (Episode 730)

Goals: How to Pick ‘em & Achieve ’em | Chris Tye-Walker (Episode 732)

“How Habits Can Get in the Way of Your Goals” by Catherine Benner

Habits in Everyday Life: Thought, Emotion, and Action

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