When I talk to people about their happiness challenges, they often point to hurdles related to a habit they want to make or break. My book describes the multiple strategies we can exploit to change our habits. First up: Self-knowledge. Key! Crucial! Essential! When we're trying to shape a habit, it's key that we understand ourselves.
We have to shape that habit in the way that suits us, or else it's not likely to stick. For instance, if you're a night person, and you try to get up at 6:00 a.m. to go for a walk, you're likely to fail. But if you go for a walk after work, you might have much better success.
So the secret to changing your habits is to know yourself. One aspect of Self-Knowledge is knowing where you fit in the framework of the Four Tendencies. That's a whole separate topic, it's so huge -- and here's a quiz you can take, to identify your Tendency. There are many other distinctions to consider, as well:
But there are many important distinctions that can help us know ourselves better. To read more about the ones I mention…are you a:
They say there are two types of people: those who love dividing the world into two types of people, and those who don’t. I love dividing the world into categories. I could keep going. Abstainers and moderators. Radiators and drains. Leopards and alchemists. Under-buyers and over-buyers. Eeyores and Tiggers.
Do you find that thinking about these distinctions helps you understand yourself better? Of course, this exercise is meant to broaden self-understanding, not trap us into a single rigid identity.
As I mention above, my current writing project is a book about habit formation. Such a fascinating subject. I identify the multiple strategies that we can use to make or break our habits. Some are quite familiar, such as Monitoring, Scheduling, andConvenience. Some took me a lot of effort to identify, such as Thinking, Abstaining, Identity. Some are more complicated than you might assume, such as Rewards andOther People. The most fun strategy? Treats. My favorite chapter? The hilarious strategy of Loophole-Spotting -- I love keeping lists of the loopholes I spot. To pre-order the book, go here.
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