USING TRIGGERS TO DEVELOP HEALTHY HABITS

Ever zone out and forget all about the healthier ways you want to eat? Or skip your workout after you pledge to increase your physical activity?

First of all, don't beat yourself up ➡️ breaking old habits, changing your behaviours and adjusting your lifestyle can be an overwhelming and difficult process and trust me, you are definitely not alone! You may just need a couple of reminders or “triggers” to perform the healthy behaviour, which is key to developing lifelong habits.

The word "trigger" often describes something that initiates an unhealthy behaviour but a trigger can also be a prompt to do something you want to do. Triggers or cues remind you of the healthy behaviours you want to implement to help reach your health goals.

You can set up any kind of trigger: an alarm, a note, a text message or you can hire a coach to hold you accountable and send you gentle reminders (read more here) but a good trigger is one you'll both notice and link to the behaviour that you want to do. 

Here's a few common examples to help get you thinking about triggers and taking action. Feel free to try these but keep in mind you’ll have the most success if you pick something that’s personal to you.

Habit: Take a walk each morning.

Trigger: Set your runners beside your bed the night before. Spotting the shoes first thing will cue you to get those shoes on and get moving.

Habit: Drink more water.

Trigger: Set a reminder on your phone for every 2 hours to help you remember to drink and refill your water bottle. 

Habit: Do a home workout.

Trigger: Leave your fitness equipment out and somewhere you will see it. Spotting your equipment will remind you to do your workout. 

Optimizing Triggers

Although triggers that simply remind you of something that needs to be done can be helpful, "action plans that include both a trigger and a task are the most effective at prompting the behaviour as they make clear what needs to be done and when." 

You may be familiar with this concept already, known as Habit Stacking.

Action plan example 1:  I will go for a walk after I eat my breakfast. Your trigger is "breakfast" and the behaviour you're wanting to implement is "go for a walk". 

Action plan example 2: After I brush my teeth, I will take my vitamins. Your trigger is "brushing your teeth" and the behaviour you're wanting to implement is "taking your vitamins". 

Action plan example 3: I will complete my home workout after I drink my morning coffee. Your trigger is "drinking your morning coffee" and the behaviour you're wanting to implement is "do a home workout". 

Action plans that are specific and include both a trigger and a behaviour will increase the likelihood of the behaviour being executed. 

Don't overwhelm yourself with too many changes or healthy habits at once!

To prevent that feeling of overwhelm or like there's too much on your plate, I suggest focusing on 2-3 habits max per week. Remember to be specific with your action plan and to make your triggers obvious! 

Just like anything else in life, habits take practice and it might take some experimentation until you find the perfect trigger or action plan that works well for you. So if you find yourself getting frustrated, just remember that you're aiming for progress, not perfection.

The secret sauce to lifestyle change is baby steps my friends! Keep going and don't ever let yourself give up.

If you’d like to be part of a program that focuses on feeling good in your body, developing lifelong habits and joint-friendly fitness & yoga classes, then we'd love to have you at MOVEHAPPY! Our goal is to help people build happier and healthier relationships with exercise and help you turn it into a lifestyle! Click here to start your free 14-day trial today 😊