A kiss, a cartoon, and twenty minutes
“Yabba-dabba-doo!” I added four exercises to the Prevention Toolkit tab on runnerslean.com and figured out how to format the page in a simple summary list instead of individual blog posts.
THE PRACTICE
A few days before that, I was sitting in an uncomfortable chair waiting my turn at the DMV for an hour, but the time flew by. I was working through steps 5: Find a good prompt and 6: Celebrate the successes in BJ Fogg’s book, Tiny Habits. This is the third week in my exploration to apply his exercises and techniques to build the habit of updating and improving my Runner’s Lean site. This habit doesn't need to be daily — once or twice a week is enough.
Behaviors are driven by prompts, and the best prompts are anchored with actions we regularly do. As I recorded my daily and weekly habits, I landed upon a natural event that could serve as the perfect prompt for me to go on my computer, pull up the Runner’s Lean website, and research, revise and edit for 20 minutes.
I work from home on Mondays and Fridays, and my very special lady friend, Gina, leaves the house to go to work at 7:40 on those mornings. Her kissing me goodbye was the perfect prompt to anchor my new habit to.
Step 5 was complete and now I needed to seal this behavior with a positive emotion, a celebration in the moment. There’s a difference between a reward and a celebration. A reward is an incentive that we offer ourselves for good work. If I run 30 miles this week, I can reward myself with a cheeseburger and a beer.
A celebration is a positive emotion we cement in the moment. Giving yourself thumbs up, pumping your fist in the air, or saying a phrase that creates a positive emotion, putting a smile on your face. It’s a quick action that makes us feel good about what we've just done.
Fogg refers to it as feeling shine, and in his appendix he provides 100 ways to celebrate and feel shine. The last item on the list is to channel Fred Flintstone and say, "Yabba-dabba-doo." I read that and beamed.
Years ago, when I did my first paid public speaking event, as I was getting ready, Gina said, "Just remember your affirmation: I'm Elmer J. Fudd, millionaire, I own a mansion and a yacht." Saying that into the mirror before a big day has always brought a smile to my face, put me at ease, and made me feel good. Adding another cartoon to my toolkit was a natural fit.
THE LESSON
My entire life I’ve believed habits get built in the doing. It’s the reps. Power through it! That’s where I put my focus. Now, I’m questioning that. Habits get built at the edges. Prompt on the front, celebration on the back, and the behavior in the middle takes care of itself.