When we consider bringing about long-lasting change, we frequently believe that significant or extreme changes are necessary in order to notice a shift and establish very lofty objectives. This isn’t always the case, though. Numerous seemingly insignificant choices can have profound effects on one’s life. After all, habits can account for 40–50% of our behavior when we consider the things we can influence.
It’s crucial to remember that behavior is not the only factor contributing to obesity, even though this article emphasizes the significance of habits in connection to changing behavior. This implies that everyone of us has the chance to work toward our individual behavioral, psychological, and health objectives every day. A common belief is that the secret to “success” is to set realistic, long-term goals. If you have an illness or condition, such as obesity, this is also true. Setting realistic goals that people can achieve and that can improve their quality of life, function, and health is the foundation of professional obesity counseling.
What do we mean by “habits” first of all?
Automatic actions or routines that we perform on a daily basis without thinking in reaction to a specific circumstance are referred to as habits. Put differently, a habit is predictable; it is an action we will take going forward based on our prior behavior. This implies that everyone of us has unique behaviors. One person’s “good habit” could be another person’s “bad habit.”
Examples of common behaviors include turning on the television as soon as we walk into a room or reaching for our phones before realizing we have them. Larger instances could be our family dynamics, our involvement in the workplace, or our fitness regimen.
Why are habits important?
Our habits serve as a portal to our entire behavior. In actuality, a great deal of our long-term behavior begins with a habit, which takes the shape of a thought or behavior trigger. An example of a routine behavior that can be broken down is going for a daily stroll. The idea of putting on sneakers as soon as you step through the door after work or the act of going outdoors after brewing coffee in the morning could be the beginning of it.
The well-known four-stage model of behavior helps describe how habits work: stimulus, craving, response, and reward. We respond to a stimulus in the environment, which can be through any human sense (although most often visual); it triggers a desire that motivates us to act; we respond with action, be it a thought or a physical act; then we are rewarded. Because humans are naturally wired for thousands of years of evolution, but now (quite recently) surrounded by modern luxuries like fast technology and treats, we often seek short-term reward even when we know it may not be possible. a long-term benefit for us.
Can habits therefore result in a permanent shift in behavior?
Indeed. Numerous accounts from people all around the world demonstrate that everyday routines and environmental shaping, rather than one-time events, can lead to success in long-term behavior and the accomplishment of personal objectives.
The reasons for long-term success can be described as “marginal gains” or “compound improvement”, a concept known in several fields such as business, economics and personal development, and is explained in the book The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. If we consider a small improvement of only 1% per day, it is not a significant “big change” and often it is not even noticeable. But if we commit to it every day, a small 1% improvement in compounds over time could lead to around 37% improvement in a single year. We anchor habits for a long time and continue to build on them to achieve our goals – it’s a journey. As such, habits must work for us and reflect our lives in order to secure them. Because small actions every day, if we are determined to stick to them, can be very meaningful in the long run.
How can our habits be improved?
Lessons from Atomic Habits by James Clear show some practical ways to create better habits and avoid bad habits to promote long-term behavior change. The four laws of behavior change are described – to make the habits we want more obvious/visible, attractive, easy, and satisfying, to increase the likelihood that we will do the habit, and to increase the chance that we will do it again in the future. . The opposite can be said about reducing habits we don’t want. Our brains can be rewired to automatically respond to a particular situation in a different way than we currently do, but it takes time and commitment every day.
What does this have to do with obesity?
It would be incorrect to assume that adopting healthier behaviors will address the obesity epidemic. Being obese is an illness. Some people are biologically predisposed to obesity, but it is produced by a complex interplay of several internal and environmental factors, many of which are beyond an individual’s control. Therefore, managing obesity necessitates a comprehensive strategy that takes into account social, psychological, and biological requirements in order to improve health.
Pingback: The iPhone 16 Pro Max: The Ultimate Smartphone from Apple - News Guidee