Tip: Replace one habit with another
A coaching tip for everyday magic
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If you’re seeking to adjust anything in your life this year, this tip may become your best friend. We are creatures of habit, and that is a good thing. Habits provide a foundation for our daily life so that we feel anchored and can turn our attention to more complex and longer-term concerns and aspirations. They become automatic, wired to a feeling of comfort and balance. That’s why, when you want to change a habit, it can feel like swimming upstream.
In fact, it’s very difficult to simply stop doing something you’ve been doing for any length of time. The physical and emotional discomfort is too great, the sudden gap of time too disorienting. Instead, many coaches encourage replacing one habit with another. This is true even for positive habits that are simply not appropriate for you anymore. We don’t always need the same things.
The reason replacement works is that it immediately gives your body somewhere to land when you take away the previous habit. Instead of floundering, you have a new anchor to hold onto. And when you repeat the new habit consistently in place of the old one, you find a new sense of balance more quickly.
Here are some simple replacement examples:
Instead of coffee, tea
Instead of news, music
Instead of phone scrolling, book reading
Instead of meditation, journaling
Instead of checking Slack, set a keyword alert
Instead of making a statement, ask a question
If you’d like to learn more about how coaching helps change habits, or if you would like support with a personal or professional challenge, please reach out for a private consultation.
useful magic!