Changing behavior works better than announcing intentions

The year you finally go to the gym, eat healthy, lose those last 10 pounds and just feel better all around.

So how come those New Year’s resolutions are often a distant memory by the time Valentine’s candy is hitting the shelves?

It isn’t all about sheer willpower. Sure, that helps, but so does planning ahead: You’ll likely have more success sticking to your plan if you change your environment or surroundings, says Wendy Wood, a psychologist at Duke University who studies habits.

“The behaviors you have practiced tend to be automatic or cued by the environment you are in, pretty directly, even though people think they’re making choices all the time,” said Wood, professor of neuroscience and psychology.

So, if you buy a doughnut every time you go to a coffee shop, find one that doesn’t sell them. If you tend to end up at the same fast-food joint on your way home from work, take another route.
Eat off smaller plates. Use smaller utensils and tall and thin glasses. Join the people who take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get the idea?

“You structure your environment so that new behavior will be cued,” said Wood. “Willpower isn’t something that is easy to maintain over time. That’s one of the reasons why resolutions are hard to keep.”

Alcoholics and addicts have long been counseled to avoid things, such as going to bars, that trigger cravings. But research indicates that environmental cues control much of the behavior in healthy people.

One of Wood’s studies found that people repeat well-practiced actions — like ordering from the same pizzeria — even if they no longer wish to do so. Another study found that college students were more likely to break their TV-watching habit if the television was in a different location.

The key: Figuring out what behaviors trigger bad habits and then replacing them with actions that cue good habits. Yes, this takes some willpower. But it’s still easier to do than to resist those same negative triggers time after time, says Wood. (…)

Source: Indianapolis Star, United States
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