How do I change a bad habit?
Your environment matters more than you think. Here鈥檚 something I wrote about the topic for as a :
When I was a graduate student, I felt too busy to exercise. I鈥檇 start once I finished school, I promised myself.
I did vaguely realize I wouldn鈥檛 have any more free time as an assistant professor, but I told myself I was too determined not to follow through. I believed in the power of my willpower.
I expect you鈥檙e smiling at my naivete and you鈥檙e right to. Willpower waxes and wanes. When it鈥檚 low and you skip a few gym trips, it鈥檚 easy to conclude there鈥檚 no point in trying anymore.
Still, when I started my first job at Williams College, I actually did exercise regularly. It turns out, I had blundered into an environment that offered excellent support for what I hoped to do.
Research shows that our choices are influenced by whether our environment makes something easy or difficult鈥攆ar more than we think. Even the smallest differences can have an outsized effect. In , researchers moved items from the front to the back of a salad bar鈥攁 change of just 10 inches鈥攁nd the slight inconvenience prompted people to eat less of these items.
My plan to exercise benefited from Williamstown鈥檚 looooong winter. Many people there figured the best way through it was to get outdoors and embrace it. Some skied or skated, but an enormous number were joggers.
That made it really easy for me to jog. I kept meeting people who were enthusiastic joggers, and they were quick to offer social support when I started. With so many runners in town, it was easy to find trails, including those appropriate for beginners. It was easy to find buddies to jog with.
I鈥檝e been thinking about this principle and my daughter, who is applying to colleges. Parents often think it鈥檚 best to find a college that matches their child. If your child is studious, for example, pick a college where most kids are similarly studious, so she鈥檒l be comfortable.
But if your child is studious, she鈥檒l probably be that way wherever she is. Maybe she needs to attend a school where it鈥檚 easy to be social. Or maybe, like me, she鈥檇 benefit from a school where most students make exercise a priority.
顿辞苍鈥檛 rely solely on willpower to ensure you follow through when the going gets tough.
Do change your environment to make challenging tasks easier鈥攁nd encourage young people to do the same. If they want to socialize more than they do now, it might mean befriending people who are outgoing. Or it might mean silencing their cellphone and putting it in another room when studying for a test. The right surroundings are more powerful than willpower alone.
