Ebook - Habits

2 www.manageyourmind.
co
This eBook will enable you to understand
and modify habits.
I’ve gathered techniques from Behaviour Science to give you

more clarity and consistency in life. This eBook is skill based
training rather than just education or reading material.
The skills (if practiced) can be helpful for a wide range of life
circumstances, it’s a flexible framework for changing and
creating habits.
Chains of habits are too light to be felt

until they are too heavy to be broken.
These eBook is ‘personal development’ guide. You will learn skills to overcome
your own inner obstacles, to make life rich, full and meaningful, and to effectively
handle the stress and difficulty that life inevitably brings. While the skills learned
will be helpful for people suffering from depression, anxiety and other
psychological conditions, these eBook should NOT be a substitute for professional
evaluation, diagnosis or treatment.
3 www.manageyourmind.co
What is habit?
a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one
that is hard to give up.
In 1993, a man from San Diego named Eugene Pauly

started vomiting and writhing with stomach cramps. Within
twenty-four hours, his dehydration was so pronounced that a
panicked Beverly (wife) took him to the emergency room. His
temperature started rising, hitting 105 degrees as he sweated
a yellow halo of perspiration onto the hospital’s sheets. He
became delirious, then violent, yelling and pushing when
nurses tried to insert an IV into his arm. Only after sedation
was a physician able to slide a long needle between two
vertebras in the small of his back and extract a few drops of
cerebrospinal fluid.
Your net worth to the world is usually

determined by what remains after your bad
habits are subtracted from your good ones.
When the results came back from the laboratory, Eugene’s

physicians learned why he was ill: He was suffering from viral
encephalitis, a disease caused by a relatively harmless virus
that produces cold sores, fever blisters, and mild infections on
the skin. In rare cases, however, the virus can make its way into
the brain, inflicting catastrophic damage as it chews through
the delicate folds of tissue where our thoughts, dreams—and
according to some, souls—reside.
By the time he was discharged to a rehabilitation centre
five weeks later, Eugene could still walk, talk and change
clothes and even cook. But he couldn’t create new memories.
He’d repeat the same sentence over and over, forgetting he
had just uttered those words a few moments earlier. He didn’t
recall getting sick. He couldn’t recognize his grandchildren.
Eugene and his wife moved to new house to be closer to

their adult daughter. Eugene couldn’t form new memories of
the layout. His wife guided him everywhere.
The doctors had warned Beverly that she would need to

monitor Eugene constantly. If he ever got lost, they said, he
would never be able to find his way home. But one morning,
while she was getting dressed, Eugene slipped out the front
door. He had a tendency to wander from room to room, so it
took her a while to notice he was gone. When she did, she
became frantic. She ran outside and scanned the street. She
couldn’t see him. What if he had wandered into traffic? How
would he tell anyone where he lived? She had been outside
for fifteen minutes already, looking everywhere. She ran home
to call the police.
When she burst through the “Even if I told him to stay
door, she found Eugene in the inside, he wouldn’t remember a
living room, sitting in front of the few minutes later,” she told me.
television watching the History “I followed him a few times to
Channel. Her tears confused him. make sure he wouldn’t get lost,
He didn’t remember leaving, he but he always came back.”
said, didn’t know where he’d
been, and couldn’t understand The scientists working with
why she was so upset. She came Eugene found something strange
closer and looked at Eugene’s has happened. Despite his lack
hands. His fingers were sticky of memory, Eugene started
with sap. That’s when she learning his way around the new
realized that Eugene had gone house. When he felt hungry, he’d
for a walk by himself. He had open the pantry and grab a jar of
wandered down the street and nuts. When he felt bored, he’d
collected some souvenirs. walk into the living room and
turn on the television.
And he had found his way
home.
But when doctors asked
Soon, Eugene was going for Eugene to provide directions to
walks every morning. Beverly the kitchen, he’d draw a blank.
tried to stop him, but it was
pointless. He couldn’t explain how to get to
the kitchen. He couldn’t draw a
map.
What happened?
As it turns out, Eugene didn’t “memorize” the layout of his

home. He developed habits, which are stored in a different
part of the brain.
This one is for the geeks - neural pathways that encode

habitual behaviour appear to be located in brain part known
as the basal ganglia.
This story, paraphrased from The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
The dictionary defines habit as - a settled or regular tendency or
practice, especially one that is hard to give up.
Why hard to give up?
It’s because most of the habits are done “mindlessly” – they are
automatic, reflexive, ingrained. You don’t have to put a lot of effort
once habit is stuck with you.
Some are simple: You automatically put toothpaste on your

toothbrush before putting it in your mouth. Some are bit more
complex, such as getting dressed or making lunch.
Take the act of backing your car out of the driveway. When you
first learned to drive, the driveway required a major dose of
concentration, and for good reason a lot of things to be taken care of
breaks, gears, garage door and a lot more.
Nowadays, however, you do all of that every time you pull onto the
street with hardly any deliberate effort. The routine occurs by habit.
The brain develops reflexive shortcuts, habits, to preserve our

mental energy. Habits trump memory and conscious thought; that’s
why we reflexively flip a light switch when we walk into a dark room.
When we work with our brain’s natural tendencies, we can
create stronger, faster, more effective results. The simple way
to accomplish good things are through — automatic, reflexive,
ingrained — habits.
Scientists say, habits emerge because the brain is

constantly looking for ways to save effort. Left to its own
devices, the brain will try to make almost any routine into a
habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more
often.
An efficient brain also allows us to stop thinking

constantly about basic behaviours, such as walking, talking,
eating etc, so we can devote mental energy in to inventing
spears, irrigation systems, and, eventually, airplanes and
taking humans to Mars.
Belief is at the core of modifying many habit loops
and plays a critical role in habit change. For habit change
to be permanent, people must believe change is possible.
Studies show that people must believe in their capacity to
change and that things will get better to achieve more
permanent habit change. Groups can have a powerful
effect on belief by providing shared experiences and
opportunities for people to publicly commit to change.
Are habits good or bad?
Let’s be honest that there is always good and bad to
everything. So with habits as well there are good/helpful
habits which help us become the person we want and there
are bad ones which takes us away.
Bad/unhelpful: habits like smoking, drugs, over-eating,

junk eating, stress all that do not help us in long term. It
creates physical and emotional illness.
All habits help our mind to ramp down more often. Thus
giving us more energy to plan and create or destroy.
How many times have you said to yourself?

• I’m going to start working out.
• I’m going to start drinking 3 litre water.
• I’m going to eat less junk foods.
• I’m going to brush every morning and night.
And how many times have you followed through on those

goals/resolutions?
If not often, procrastination is also a habit. Which keeps us

saying – I’ll do it tomorrow, as today I’m busy/sad/tired/giving
excuses.
If you have not able to achieve your goals in the past,

that’s fine. We all fail at something time to time. Failing
consistently is also a habit. We might not be learning lessons
and changing our approach.
In this guide, you will learn how to make your habits stick.
Once you know the framework or system, you virtually guarantee
success in everything you do.
Habits are destiny? No way, Habits can be ignored, changed,

or replaced. And studies show that simply understanding how
habits work — learning the structure of the habit loop — makes
them easier to control. Once you break a habit into its
components, you can fiddle with the various pieces.
One paper published by a Duke University researcher

in 2006 found that more than 40 percent of the
actions people performed each day weren’t the due to
decision making, but were habits.
Before we go in to the How to of changing and creating habits. I
want to list (only) some of the habits which are not healthy
psychologically and physiologically.
Eating, even when not hungry.
Losing touch with your body's natural hunger and satisfaction signals
can lead to chronic overeating and unhealthy extra kilos that can lead
to diabetes, heart disease, and other serious conditions. If its junk
foods you snack on, you're also flooding your body with unhealthy
ingredients.
Spending time on watching TV or mobile.
The more TV you watch, the less physical activity you're getting,
increasing your odds of being overweight and developing type 2
diabetes. A large-scale study of over 9000 people found that those
who watched more than two hours of TV a day ate more, while
downing more sugary soft drinks and high-fat, high-calorie, processed
snack foods than those who watched less.
According to a study of young adults in the U.K., 84% of those tracked

experienced back pain during the last year, mainly due to being
hunched over smartphones, tablets, and computers.
According to a study of 1,000 people in the U.K., 66% of the population

fears losing or being without their phones at any given time.
Dining while viewing (TV/Mobile) can make you
take in 40 percent more calories than usual.
Eating too much outside food
A steady diet of double cheeseburgers and fries washed down with an

oversize soda or milkshake often leads to a bigger waistline and other
related health problems, like heart disease and diabetes. Trans fat,
often found in fast food, raises 'Unhelpful' cholesterol and blood fats
that contribute to hardening of the arteries, as well as firing up
inflammation, which contributes to the build-up of fatty plaque in
artery walls.
Behaviour that leaves you angry, worried, or stressed all of the

time
An unhappy lifestyle releases a cascade of stress hormones that

increase your blood pressure and blood sugar, lower immunity, slow
digestion, and make you feel downright mean. Nature intended stress
to be a short-lived fight-or-flight response to a threat, but modern life
can lead to chronic stress and to far-reaching impacts on your health,
such as increased risk of being overweight and overeating high-fat,
sugary foods. Both raise your odds for heart disease and diabetes.
Skipping breakfast
Skipping the first meal of the day can have serious consequences for
your weight, your energy levels, and even your blood sugar. Munching
a piece of morning toast or crunching a bowl of bran flakes signals to
your metabolism that it's time to kick things up a notch. Skipping the
fuel keeps your metabolism running on low, which can lead to weight
gain and sluggishness. You'll also create a starve-now-indulge-later
eating pattern, which is why breakfast-skippers tend to overeat later
in the day.
Lack of Sleep or Ignoring Sleep
Sleep deprivation can lead to higher risk of chronic health problems

like high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. According to
Harvard Medical School, for people with hypertension, one night
without enough sleep can cause elevated blood pressure all through
the next day. Sleep deprivation increases production of the stress
hormone cortisol. Lack of sleep lowers your levels of a hormone called
leptin, which tells your brain that you’ve had enough to eat. In
addition, it raises levels of a biochemical called ghrelin, which is an
appetite stimulant. Sleep deprivation prompts your body to release
higher levels of insulin after you eat, promoting fat storage and
increasing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Not Drinking Water
The body is composed of between 55 and 78 percent water,

depending on body size. Adequate and regular water
consumption has numerous health benefits. As an added plus,
it has no calories, fat, carbohydrates or sugar. The amount of
water you consume everyday plays an important role in
maintaining a healthy body. Experts recommend drinking
eight to 10 glasses of water each day to maintain good health.
In a clinical trial, scientists found that drinking two eight-
ounce glasses of water prior to meals can help suppress
appetite and hence support your weight loss efforts. When
you drink water, it fills your stomach and reduces the
tendency to eat more. Plus, it helps increase the rate at which
the body burns fat, and promotes the breakdown and
elimination of fat cells.
While we know most of the unhelpful habits, sometimes it’s
difficult to change or replace.
Let’s take example of smoking, we know smoking is not a

healthy habit but it takes several attempt to quit.
Among all current U.S. adult cigarette smokers, nearly 7 out of

every 10 (68.8%) reported in 2010 that they wanted to quit
completely. And statistics suggests it takes around 6 attempts to
quit smoking.
A UK surveys show that about two-thirds of current smokers

would like to stop smoking but only about 30%-40% make a quit
attempt in a given year.
So why is it so hard to change our unhelpful habits despite

knowing the harm it is causing us?
Habits are often as much a curse as a benefit.
How habits are formed?
When you woke up this morning, what did you do first?
Did you hop in the shower, check your email, or grab a
donut from the kitchen counter? Did you tie the left or right
shoe first? Did you choose a salad or hamburger for lunch?
When you got home, did you put on your sneakers and
go for a run, or eat dinner in front of the TV?
Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the
products of well-considered decision making, but they’re
not. They’re habits.
The brain converts a

sequence of actions into
an automatic routine—is
known as “chunking,” and
it’s at the root of how
habits form. There are
dozens—if not hundreds—
of behavioural chunks
that we rely on every day.
All habits form by the same 3–step process. (Graphic based on Charles Duhigg’s “Habit
Loop” in The Power of Habit. Created by Mrugank Patel.)
This process within our brains is a three-step loop.
First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into

automatic mode and which habit to use. The cue can be
internal, such as a feeling or thought, or external, such as a
time of day or the company of certain people (which is why
it’s easier to exercise among our running buddies, but
harder to study when our friends are in the library)
Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental

or emotional. The behaviour that leads to the reward. The
routine can be physical (eating a cake), cognitive
(“remember for the test”), or emotional (“I always feel
anxious in math class”)
Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out

if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future:
Not surprisingly, the reward can also be physical (sugar!),
cognitive (“that’s really interesting”), or emotional (“I
always feel relaxed in front of the TV.”). The reward
determines if a particular habit loop is worth remembering.
In the habit loop illustrated below, a mouse learns to
automatically run through a maze after hearing a click,
because the habit has become ingrained through a chocolaty
reward.
The discovery of the habit loop is so important is that it

reveals a basic truth: When a habit emerges, the brain stops
fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard,
or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately
challenge a habit—unless you find new routines—the pattern
will unfold automatically.
Human behaviour flows from

As Plato said -
three main sources: desire, emotion, and
knowledge.
Habits aren’t destiny. As we move on I’ll explain, how
habits can be ignored, changed, or replaced.
Some habits are more powerful than others. These are
known as keystone habits and they have the power to
change how other habits work. Making a change in a
keystone habit (“going for a run before work”) can start a
chain reaction that over time transforms other patterns
(“eating a healthy breakfast instead of a donut” and
“drinking water instead of coffee throughout the day”). As
you can imagine, it can be difficult to find the critical
habits that can impact other routines. Once these critical
habits are identified and changed, they have the potential
to have wide-reaching effects!
How to start lifestyle change?
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone
Above is a very famous quote, as you might have heard.

But I do see people get out of their comfort zone and try
something challenging although it does not last too long.
Anything you want to achieve requires consistent effort. For
example anybody can lose weight but keeping it off is the
biggest challenge. Weight loss dieting research shows that:
'1/3 to 2/3 of the weight is regained within one year’.
Why is that?
Because, we are not making lifestyle changes (changing

ingrained habits). We follow a meal plan or exercise plan
because of positive or negative motivation for few weeks, start
seeing some results (lose weight) we go back to same habits.
As you would be able to reflect, your life today is

essentially the sum of your habits.
• How in shape or out of shape you are?

• How happy or unhappy you are?
• How successful or unsuccessful you are?
Obviously, changing some habits can be more difficult

than others. But if we understand how habits are formed and
have a framework, we can start making desired changes.
Obviously, changing some habits can be more difficult than
others. But if we understand how habits are formed and have a
framework, we can start making desired changes.
I suggest you should ask following questions before embarking

on any habit changes or creation.
What is the biggest benefit I’m seeking by making this lifestyle

change?
Before we start changing, replacing or creating anything, we

need to know, what is the motivation? Why we want to take some
action? What is in it for me?
Most of the time we want to make changes or create habits for

betterment of our livelihood: like healthy meal choices, exercise,
meditation, saving plans etc.
Most of the time we embark on journeys without knowing why

have I started? So after sometime we either get bored or tired of
doing something which does not make sense. If you know your
internal motivation/inspiration, it will act as your fuel. When things
get tough, your motivation why you started something in first place
will help you going.
Why did I use this and not these?

these The reason being, science has
proven again and again that making too many changes at once is a
not sustained long term.
There are positive and negative motivators. Positives are, I want

to build my six packs and negative would be I don’t want to get fired
so I’ll always produce my reports on time.
The second question is around roadblocks, as you and I both
know not everything we imagine goes according to plan. So before
you embark on your journey ask this
What could stop me achieving desired changes?
This is like having a back up plan. If you have failed in the past,
you would know what stopped you. You can list down the obstacles.
The obstacles could be your thoughts, feelings, environment, skills,
resources etc.
As you list down your challenges, you should also start thinking
about When this happens, What would be my action? How will I
overcome the obstacle? This is just simple plan, no one knows the
future but we can plan for the future.
Benjamin Franklin said this very well –
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!
Think when the alarm goes

off for exercise and you mind
says ‘I’ll do it tomorrow?’, what
will you do?
Top 5 barriers to change.
Despite our best intentions we are not able to be the person
we want, why? There are many reasons but they fall mainly
into one of the buckets of below top 5 challenges.
Lack of time and too many commitments.

Inconsistency with taking action.
Procrastination and laziness.
Self-doubt and lack of confidence.
Lack of clarity.
I want you to do a simple activity. Last time when you

attempted something and gave up, what do you think was the
reason?
Take pause from reading for few minutes and do the activity.
After the two questions consider a very important point, go
small.
small This is related to the barrier lack of time and too many
commitment. We want to earn more, do more and be more…in
shortest amount of time.
Everybody wants to make massive changes in short amount of

time. Many people want to loose 10kg weight in 10 days. We see
those models on magazines and TV and we wish we want to be like
them tomorrow. Is that possible? To get the body (and maintain it),
there are hours of exercise and strict diet has been followed.
So when you are starting out, the best suggestion is: start small.
As Leo Babauta says “make it so small that you can’t

say no”
How small? Stanford professor BJ Fogg suggests that people

who want to start flossing begin by flossing only one tooth. Just one.
In the beginning, performance doesn’t matter. What does matter

is becoming the type of person who always sticks to your new habit
– no matter how small or insignificant it seems. You can build up to
the level of performance that you want once the behaviour becomes
consistent.
How do some people resist temptation when
confronted with unexpected stress? How do some people
marshal their willpower when the going gets tough? How,
in other words, do some people make willpower into a
habit? One way is they anticipate possible challenges.
Anticipation of inflection points, or challenges, allows
people to plan to deal with pain, stress, and temptation
ahead of time. Is it the delicious smell of the cupcakes
that is too much to resist? Or is it that you gets sleepy in
the mid-afternoon and the cupcake is a quick pick-me-
up? Anticipating these inflection points (i.e., going for a
quick walk prior to prevent drowsiness) allows us to
choose a routine ahead of time (“When I feel tired (my
cue), I’ll go for a walk (my routine,) and I’ll end up feeling
refreshed (my reward) instead of hungry for a cupcake.”).
Over time, these plans become automatic habits. Another
reason why some people are better at creating willpower
habits is because they feel in control.
Habit Change Framework
So let’s say now you’ve found what you want to change,
the smallest habit.
You’ve already found your motivation and plan to

overcome your obstacles.
Here is a framework, and not the only one. It is a place

to start. Sometimes change takes a long time. Sometimes it
requires repeated experiments and failures (like quitting
smoking). But once you understand how a habit operates
(which you know by now, if not read how habits are
formed)— once you diagnose the cue, the routine and the
reward— you gain power over it.
In any habit routine is the easiest step to identify. That is the
behaviour we want to modify. Routine is the behaviour which
someone can see (except the psychological like rumination,
procrastination, overthinking etc.)
Some examples of routines which most people like to modify:
• Stuff self with food (overeating), eating everything on

plate.
• Eating fast food and high calorie food.
• Eat lot of sweets.
• Smoking as soon as they wake up.
• Engage in non-hungry eating.
• Getting distracted easily (lack of attention).
So routine is easy to identify but change only happens when you

provide alternate reward to your brain.
Rewards are powerful because they satisfy cravings. But we’re
often not mindful of the cravings that drive our behaviours. Most
cravings are obvious in retrospect, but incredibly hard to see when
we are under their sway.
To figure out which cravings are driving particular habits, it’s

useful to experiment with different rewards. This might take a few
days, or a week, or longer. During that period, you shouldn’t feel any
pressure to make a real change— think of yourself as a scientist in
the data collection stage.
As you test four or five different rewards, you can use a trick to
look for patterns: After each activity, jot down on a piece of paper
the first three things that come to mind when you finish the habit
loop.
By experimenting with different rewards, you can isolate what

you are actually craving, which is essential in redesigning the habit.
Experiments have shown that almost all habitual cues/triggers
fit into one of five categories: 1) Location 2) Time 3) Emotional State
4) Other People 5) Immediately preceding action
So, if you’re trying to figure out the cue for the ‘eating even if
you are not hungry’ habit, you write down five things the moment
the urge hits:
• Where are you? (sitting at my desk)
• What time is it? (3:36 pm)
• What’s your emotional state? (bored)
• Who else is around? (no one)
• What action preceded the urge? (finished a report)
You feel that a task is done and maybe you should reward
yourself. Rewarding by? Food.
Keep doing this for few days and see what happens? Do you do
the same behaviour over weekends or it’s only when you are at
work? A worksheet is given at the end of this eBook, so before going
to step 4 collect data.
So now you’ve understanding of your habit (by completing habit
log worksheet). You can change to a better routine by planning for
the cue, and choosing a behaviour that delivers the reward you are
craving. What you need is a plan.
To re- engineer that formula, we need to begin making mindful

choices again.
again And the easiest way to do this, according to study
after study, is to have a plan. Within psychology, these plans are
known as ‘implementation intentions.’
Things will go wrong and there might be repeated failures but if

you keep experimenting you will be able to change your behaviour.
I have not failed. I've just found 10000

ways that won't work.
Give it a MINDFUL try, staying under the influence of your
unhelpful habit is going to give you what reward? If the reward is
not making you a better person, go try this framework.
Above is a framework based on Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit.
Habit is a choice that
we deliberately make at
some point, and then
stop thinking about, but
continue doing, often
every day.
Most modern psychologists discourage the use of
punishment to teach children good habits and
recommend the use of rewards instead. Punishment is
typically ineffective because it teaches an individual what
not to do, rather than what they should do when a bad
habit strikes
The Worksheet
When you are doing this activity, think that you are a life
scientist who is on a mission to find the best reward while
changing the routine/behaviour for the betterment of your
life.
Please do this activity as honestly as you can, as there is no

one else can change YOU except YOU!
1. Identify and describe the target habit.

2. Describe the damaging effect your target habit has on the
body. In other words, provide evidence as to why it is
important for you to change this specific behaviour (what
it has cost you in past?).
3. Measure your behaviour (Frequency of non-hungry eating,
smoking, consumption of fast food, not exercising etc.).
Immediately
Emotional With
Occurrence Location Time preceding
State People
action
So observe it for a week or two to see what data you can

collect. Understanding the problem before finding solution
is the best way to change your ingrained habits.
You can't manage what you can't measure.
4. The Loop
• Identify the cue of this habit
• Identify the routine of this habit
• Identify the reward of this habit
• Identify the craving of this habit
5. Carefully construct and describe the new routine you will
insert between the cue and reward of your habit?
6. Record when you implemented the change (new
behaviour).
It is always good to measure the change as that will also

identify your success rate. You might be successful in
changing behaviour at certain location or certain time, so
having record of change will help you improve. You can use
the same table to record new/changed behaviour.
Immediately
Emotional With
Occurrence Location Time preceding
State People
action
This should be a 2 to 4 weeks project, depending on the

recurrence of your automatic habit.
We first make our habits

Then our habits make us.
Click here to download the worksheet
Source: http://charlesduhigg.com/resources/
Source: http://charlesduhigg.com/resources/
How to Keep New Year’s
Resolutions Beyond a Week? 6 Tips
To Help You Achieve Goals.
It has been almost a week since New Year’s Day. As we
come to senses after all the fun filled new year parties and
putting our goals into action, I thought here are 6 Tips To
Help You Achieve Goals and keep the New Year’s resolution
beyond few days or weeks.
Before we get into the tips, here are some interesting

Research about New Year’s Resolution.
• A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of

Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those
who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that
52% of the study’s participants were confident of success
at the beginning. (Source Wikipedia)
From Opinion Research Group
• 45% of Americans usually set New Year’s Resolutions;

17% infrequently set resolutions; 38% absolutely never
set resolutions.
• Only 8% of people are always successful in achieving
their resolutions.
• 19% achieve their resolutions every other year.
• 49% have infrequent success.
• 24% (one in four people) NEVER succeed and have failed
on every resolution every year. That means that 3 out of
4 people almost never succeed.
• Of those who do set resolutions (these add to more than
100% because some people set multiple resolutions):
• 34% set resolutions related to money
• 38% set resolutions related to weight
• 47% set resolutions related to self-improvement or
education
• 31% set resolutions related to relationships
• It appears that the younger you are, the more likely you
are to achieve your resolutions:
• 39% of those in their twenties achieve their
resolutions every year or every other year.
• Less than 15% of those over 50 achieve their
resolutions every year or every other year
Despair Not, Me Hearties !! from these numbers as our

scientist friends has also discovered secret to sticking to
your goals.
6 Tips To Help You Achieve Goals
1. Don’t make too many resolutions.

resolutions.
Pick a realistic, attainable goal with a reasonable time

frame. A couple of small goals works best.
Don’t make Resolutions, make resolution. Overwhelming our

mind with too many restrictions or challenges is sure way to
fail any goal. Find the most important goal (personally) and
break it in small chunks with reasonable time frame. Also
make realistic goals, If you want to climb mount Everest and
never climbed a small hill. Set your goal to climb the small
hill first. Acquire the skills to accomplish your bigger goal.
Acquiring skills is one goal in itself. If you’ve been smoking
for last 15 years and suddenly going to stop one day, is this
realistic? Will this work?
Here is the formula to set specific goals – The SMART

Formula
This is what the SMART Acronym stand for………..
S= Specific Do not set a vague, fuzzy, or poorly-defined goal like, ‘I’ll

be more loving’. Instead, be specific: ‘I’ll give my students a good,
long hug when I see them sad’. In other words, specify what actions
you will take.
M = Meaningful Make sure this goal is aligned with important

values.
A = Adaptive Is this goal likely to improve your life in some way?

Getting you closer to who you want to be?
R = Realistic Make sure the goal is realistic for the resources you
have available. Resources you may need could include: time, money,
physical health, social support, knowledge and skills. If these
resources are necessary but unavailable, you will need to change
your goal to a more realistic one. The new goal might actually be to
find the missing resources: to save the money, or develop the skills,
or build the social network, or improve health, etc.
T = Time-
Time -framed Put a specific time frame on the goal: specify the
day, date and time — as accurately as possible — that you will take
the proposed actions.
2. Choose your own resolution.
resolution.
Make sure your goal is something that “you” want to accomplish for
yourself and not just for friends or family.
If you set goals, because someone has said something it wouldn’t

last long. You will need intrinsic motivation to keep going. External
motivators can get you going but will not help you sustain the pace
when things get difficult. Fear of Shame is good starting to launch
into your goal but to keep going in the space you need your own
power.
Always lose weight for yourself, not others. Always build a stronger
body for yourself. Always quit addiction because you care about your
health.
3. Make a plan and write it down.

down.
Plan what you’d like to accomplish in a certain period of time, like

three months. Put milestones for every fortnight or month. Achieving
goals over time gives you a sense of accomplishment and motivation
to keep going. Writing your goals down is a good way to keep track of
your progress.
Research by Laura King shows that writing about achieving

future goals and dreams can make people happier and
healthier. (source link).
Also a plan keeps you honest and accountable. When in confusion a
good written plan will guide us to next steps as well. For example a
written exercise plan will reduce the effort of choosing which
exercise to do. Same with meal plans, they help us reduce cravings
and binge eating.
4. Involve friends and family.

family .
They can support your efforts and can motivate you to keep going.
Group activities are just more fun.
Studies of people trying to change their lives, for example by

losing weight, found that they are 22 percent more likely to be
successful in their efforts if they are open with their family from
the start about what they are trying to do. (From 100 Simple
Secrets of Happy Families)
By telling people, we invoke either fear of failure or shame, which

keeps us going. Also friends who are trying to achieve same goals as
you will be great to pair up.
Put your SMART goal, as above on Facebook or Twitter, also ask for
their support in public to help you stick to your goal. Do it Now !!
5. If you get off track, forgive yourself.
yourself.
This is a weird one. As popular psychology says don’t fail and bit
yourself if you fail. I suggest review your plan and make
adjustments–but, never give up.
Self-Compassion is key to winning. If you become to harsh on

yourself when you screw up, achieving long term goals will be a
challenge. When we loose self-acceptance, we start focusing on the
stuff up rather than thinking about tweaking the plan and moving
forward.
Study after study shows that self-criticism is consistently associated with

less motivation and worse self-control. It is also one of the single biggest
predictors of depression, which drains both “I will” power and “I want”
power. In contrast, self-compassion— being supportive and kind to
yourself, especially in the face of stress and failure— is associated with
more motivation and better self-control. Consider, for example, a study at
Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, that tracked the procrastination
of students over an entire semester. Lots of students put off studying for
the first exam, but not every student made it a habit. Students who were
harder on themselves for procrastinating on their first exam were more
likely to procrastinate on later exams than students who forgave
themselves. The harder they were on themselves about procrastinating
the first time, the longer they procrastinated for the next exam!
Forgiveness— not guilt— helped them get back on track.(From The
Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You
Can Do To )
6. Congratulate and reward yourself.
yourself.
When your intermediate goals or resolutions are met routinely. Keep

in mind it’s a lifestyle change that is intended to be self rewarding.
In my Weight Management Workshop, I ask people, What after you

loose 10 KG? (i.e. achieve your goal) . I teach skills to make it a life
style change while defining small rewards as we stick with the habit
change. As with your current Resolution what small rewards you are
going to have, to keep yourself motivated?
Here is extract from one of the email from my eCourse
GOALS Rewards & Restrictions
What is the point of having a goal in which we have to wait till the
end to see reward?
As most of the goals create situation where you keep putting effort
hour after hour or day after day to see the reward. The reward could
be very satisfactory but the process to achive the goal might prove
challenging, and that challenge could derail us from achieving our
goals.
So in today’s email I suggest to have power-ups as you go along your

path to achieve your goals. These small rewards will keep you
motivated along the way.
While rewards are a good way to boost the motivation, it is also
good to put restriction/punishments along the path. To avoid the
punishment you might stick to the goal.
What you are going to do now?
• Tweak your goal? Make it Smarter.

• Define rewards for yourself.
• Announce it publicly.
• Write a detail goal plan.
The post originally appeared on - http://manageyourmind.co/keep-new-years-resolutions-

beyond-week-6-tips-help-achieve-goals/
The Habit Poem
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to
failure.
I am completely at your command.

Half of the things you do you might as well turn
over to me and I will do them - quickly and
correctly.
I am easily managed - you must be firm with me.

Show me exactly how you want something done
and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of great people,

and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine though

I work with the precision of a machine
plus the intelligence of a person.
You may run me for profit or run me for ruin -

it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me, and

I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.

Who am I?
I am Habit.
Before I let you go on your transformation journey, I want to give you
my favourite quote
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In

that space is our power to choose our response. In our
response lies our growth and our freedom.
So take a deep breath and ask am I choosing to be the person I want

to be?
With love, gratitude and best wishes.
Mrugank ‘MP’ Patel

Coach | Consultant | Psychotherapist
As coach, I work with Professionals and Entrepreneurs to

optimize their potential which drives productivity, performance
and fulfilment.
My life experience and education in Behaviour Psychology has
enabled me to offer a practical and scientifically proven
approach to improve quality of your life. The approach of
Clarity, Compassion and Consistency delivered through an easy
to follow, actionable framework has been proven to produce
results for individuals and corporates.
To get the best out of your life,
subscribe to our newsletter at
www.manageyourmind.co

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2 www.manageyourmind.

I’ve gathered techniques from Behaviour Science to give you

Chains of habits are too light to be felt

In 1993, a man from San Diego named Eugene Pauly

Your net worth to the world is usually

When the results came back from the laboratory, Eugene’s

Eugene and his wife moved to new house to be closer to

The doctors had warned Beverly that she would need to

As it turns out, Eugene didn’t “memorize” the layout of his

This one is for the geeks - neural pathways that encode

This story, paraphrased from The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

Why hard to give up?

Some are simple: You automatically put toothpaste on your

The brain develops reflexive shortcuts, habits, to preserve our

Scientists say, habits emerge because the brain is

An efficient brain also allows us to stop thinking

Bad/unhelpful: habits like smoking, drugs, over-eating,

How many times have you said to yourself?

And how many times have you followed through on those

If not often, procrastination is also a habit. Which keeps us

If you have not able to achieve your goals in the past,

Habits are destiny? No way, Habits can be ignored, changed,

One paper published by a Duke University researcher

Eating, even when not hungry.

Spending time on watching TV or mobile.

According to a study of young adults in the U.K., 84% of those tracked

According to a study of 1,000 people in the U.K., 66% of the population

Eating too much outside food

A steady diet of double cheeseburgers and fries washed down with an

Behaviour that leaves you angry, worried, or stressed all of the

An unhappy lifestyle releases a cascade of stress hormones that

Lack of Sleep or Ignoring Sleep

Sleep deprivation can lead to higher risk of chronic health problems

The body is composed of between 55 and 78 percent water,

Let’s take example of smoking, we know smoking is not a

Among all current U.S. adult cigarette smokers, nearly 7 out of

A UK surveys show that about two-thirds of current smokers

So why is it so hard to change our unhelpful habits despite

Habits are often as much a curse as a benefit.

The brain converts a

This process within our brains is a three-step loop.

First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into

Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental

Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out

The discovery of the habit loop is so important is that it

Human behaviour flows from

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone

Above is a very famous quote, as you might have heard.

Because, we are not making lifestyle changes (changing

As you would be able to reflect, your life today is

• How in shape or out of shape you are?

Obviously, changing some habits can be more difficult

I suggest you should ask following questions before embarking

What is the biggest benefit I’m seeking by making this lifestyle

Before we start changing, replacing or creating anything, we

Most of the time we want to make changes or create habits for

Most of the time we embark on journeys without knowing why

Why did I use this and not these?

There are positive and negative motivators. Positives are, I want

What could stop me achieving desired changes?

Benjamin Franklin said this very well –

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!

Think when the alarm goes

Lack of time and too many commitments.