Cultivating Growth Habits

Research indicates that around 40% of our daily behaviors are automatic (Neal, Wood & Quinn, 2006). Think about that; close to half of the time your behavior is being controlled by habits. Rather than choosing your behavior based on your conscious intention in a given moment, around 40% of the time your brain simply reacts to some cue in your environment, and your body follows through with an ingrained habitual behavior. At some point in your past you likely did make a conscious decision to do it this way; that decision was repeated, and now those past choices, behaviors, and experiences are shaping your destiny.

Habits are an extremely valuable way for the brain to save energy; this is important because while the brain makes up only about 2% of your mass, it uses 25% of your body’s oxygen resources. Habits are like memorized algorithms for responding to everyday problems and opportunities. Because so much of your daily behavior is based on habits, they are extremely powerful for shaping your life trajectory. Bad habits can destroy your life; good habits can put you on a fast track to growth and flourishing.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg should definitely be on your reading list (at the very least, the first three chapters). Here is Duhigg introducing how habits work:

If you haven’t read the book yet, you can start by reading the short Appendix “A Guide to Changing Habits” which Duhigg has made available for free from his website. We’re assigning it to you now as part of your required reading for this module!

Understanding how habits work can inform our development of what we could call growth habits. A growth habit is simply a positive habit you cultivate that helps leverage your efforts for personal growth. Consider this: what is one new habit you would like to develop that if done regularly, could make a tremendous difference in your life?

Similar to Duhigg’s concept of a keystone habit, a growth habit leverages your efforts in a way that makes many other positive habits and outcomes more likely. For me (Jared), establishing a daily mindfulness practice has been a very important growth habit because it has helped me improve my social interactions, decrease anxiety, cultivate gratitude, and live with a greater sense of ease and confidence, among other benefits. I’ve learned that having that habit in place makes lots of other things go well in my life. What are some of your current growth habits? What new growth habits could put you on an even better trajectory toward a life of flourishing?

As additional context for understanding the value of growth habits, consider this analogy from James Allen (As a Man Thinketh):

“The human mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.”

Growth habits help leverage your efforts by providing momentum for other positive behaviors while also helping you avoid bad habits that would otherwise get you into trouble. In addition to the guidelines offered in the preceding sections, here are several important considerations for developing new growth habits:

• Start by considering the reward component of the habit loop. Consider the long-term reward (which may have to do with the core values you’ve identified), but also find short-term rewards you will use to help the habit get started. For example, if regular physical exercise is your target growth habit, you can regularly remind yourself of your core value of living a healthy lifestyle, and also set up a reward schedule of buying a new article of clothing for every two weeks of regular exercise (or whatever will motivate you). Experiment with different rewards to find the ones that really motivate your brain to chase this new habit!

• Identify the specific cue that will trigger the new growth habit routine, and when possible, always do the routine after the cue. For establishing my habit of a regular mindfulness practice, the cue of entering my office in the morning and setting down my laptop bag was my prompt to practice. If your target growth habit is daily grounding in your purpose and values, you could decide to make brushing your teeth the automatic cue for then opening up your smartphone and reviewing your purpose and values. Time and place are very powerful cues; growth habits are much easier to form when you have set aside a designated/protected time and place for when and where it will happen every day.  

• Set yourself up for success by eliminating as much as possible the need to rely on willpower. When your motivation is higher, use that energy to put things in place that will maximize your chances of following through. For example, if you have a goal for healthy eating, buy and prepare the foods you will need beforehand so they’re accessible if/when you get home late and tired from work. Anticipate obstacles and make a plan for them beforehand (WOOP your growth habit!).

• Leverage social support. If you can, bring a friend into your growth habit routine. For example, agree with a friend or family member that you will each start a gratitude journal, and share entries on a weekly basis. If possible, find a small group of friends to start one of the 21-Day Growth Experiments together, and make a friendly competition out of the spreadsheet point system! Alternatively, consider whether telling others of your new growth habit intentions will make you feel more motivated to follow through. This can provide both support and accountability for your goal. In addition, be aware that you tend to develop the same kinds of habits as the people you spend time with, so be mindful in the associations you cultivate.

• Track your progress. Finding a simple and reliable way to track your progress can increase motivation and help you figure out what works and what doesn’t. Come up with a simple tracking system on your own (e.g., checklist, spreadsheet, journal) or let technology be your friend and use a good smartphone app or something similar that fits your intended purpose. A couple great smartphone apps for establishing and tracking new habits are Productive for iOS or Grow for Android. Just as important as the numbers you record (e.g., time devoted to task, completion percentage) are the reflections and insights you record as you learn along the way. For example, when things seem to be going really well with your growth habit, make a note of what’s working, what you’re learning, and revisit likely future obstacles and what you’ll do when they arise (the last half of the WOOP approach). When you fall short of your intentions, make a note or two on what happened and how you can learn from it. Over time you’ll start to see patterns emerge that will help you make refinements to your growth habit efforts. You can use the 21-Day Growth Experiment spreadsheet to track your efforts and keep notes on insights and lessons learned. Here it is as an Excel file, or as a Google spreadsheet (to use the Google spreadsheet go to File → Make a Copy, and save a copy for your own use).

Personal Application

OK, it’s time to get serious about growing yourself. Consider again the question from above: what is one new habit you would like to develop that if done regularly, could make a tremendous difference in your life? We’ll offer a few possibilities here, but decide on a new growth habit you’d like to cultivate, and use the resources provided in this module to make it happen!

Ideas for new growth habits:

• Start each day by orienting to your purpose, values

• Do 1 thing every day to cultivate a relationship

• Establish a regular exercise routine

• Start a gratitude journal

• Make 1 day a week a “Day of Kindness” where you do at least 3 random acts of kindness for others

• Explicitly do 1 thing every day that is in line with your purpose/values

• Protected growth time: spend 20 min/day doing something that contributes to your personal growth

• Meditate daily (start with 5-10 minutes; increase to 20 minutes or more)

• Schedule social media time; limit to specific times and durations that you designate beforehand.

• Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day

• Spend at least 10 minutes every day doing something that is important but that is uncomfortable or that you have been putting off; ask yourself, “Where is my courage needed today?” and then act on the answer.   

There’s one more thing you’ll need to succeed in your efforts for growing your best self. You could consider it the “special sauce” of living a meaningful and successful life. It’s a four-letter word that starts with a “G,” but it’s not gold, guns, or golf. Give up? You’d better not, because in the next section we’re talking about Grit!

Growth Habits Resources

• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg