Ideas in the Wild: Dr Jon Finn is Helping Us Fulfill Our Potential by Teaching Us How to Build Better Habits
Nothing in The Habit Mechanic approach is prescriptive. Everyone is unique and people will only understand what works for them by trying things out (i.e., put some of the ideas in the book into practice to learn what works best for you). I call this “doing personal research.”
Many people want to feel and do better. Unfortunately, most self-help, training, and coaching is outdated and ineffective in our challenging world. Why? It’s not rooted in cutting-edge science about how our brains actually work and what actually stops us from fulfilling our potential.
Luckily, there is a solution. We must learn to become “Habit Mechanics.”
In The Habit Mechanic, Dr. Jon Finn shares how to do just that. His new, uniquely powerful approach draws on proven insights from cutting-edge neuroscience, behavioral science, psychology, and world champions.
Dr. Finn describes how anyone can quickly develop better habits for resilience, performance, and leadership using award-winning “Habit Mechanic” and “Chief Habit Mechanic” tools. I recently caught up with Dr. Finn to learn more about why he wrote the book and the ideas he shares with readers.
Why did you write this book?
I wrote The Habit Mechanic–which took me over 20 years–because my life’s mission is to help people to be their best in the challenging modern world. I wanted to create a book that actually helped people to identify and build ‘Super Habits’ so they could thrive and succeed, time and again throughout life.
Having completed three psychology-related degrees, including a Ph.D., I learned that most self-help, training, and coaching is outdated and ineffective in our challenging world. Why? It’s not rooted in cutting-edge science about how our brains actually work and what actually stops us from fulfilling our potential.
So, I used my research, insights from cutting-edge neuroscience, behavioral science, psychology, and world champions to create The Habit Mechanic approach. I have been developing, trying, testing, and refining the 30-plus “Habit Mechanic” and “Chief Habit Mechanic” tools I share in the book for over 20 years. They are proven to change lives and are already used by over 10,000 people.
The book brings together, in one place, everything I know about becoming a Habit Mechanic and a Chief Habit Mechanic. I wanted to do this to make it easier for people from every background to consistently feel better, do better, and (if they want to) lead better. If people want to unlock their amazing potential, I wrote this book to help them.
People have already said the book is like a “manual for life,” a “tool kit for life success,” and probably the most important self-help book of the 21st century. I am delighted that people are finding it so powerful and that The Habit Mechanic approach is now easily accessible to everyone who wants to be their best.
What’s an idea you share that really excites you?
Using insights from cutting-edge science to help people adopt a “Habit Mechanic Mindset” and Habit Mechanic identity. This means thinking of your life as a journey where you will travel through peaks and troughs. When you notice yourself going into a trough, you deliberately build new habits to help yourself get out of it faster than you otherwise would. When you feel like you are at a peak, you might want to build new habits that allow you to push yourself even higher and stay there for longer.
Nothing in The Habit Mechanic approach is prescriptive. Everyone is unique and people will only understand what works for them by trying things out (i.e., put some of the ideas in the book into practice to learn what works best for you). I call this “doing personal research.”
Learning how to become a Habit Mechanic and a Chief Habit Mechanic is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. But people now have all the pieces — they’re inside the book. As people read the book, I show them how to put all the pieces together.
Habit Mechanics are not looking to be perfect. We just want to do a little bit better every day. These tiny daily wins quickly add up to help us achieve big results.
To fully explain what it means to be a Habit Mechanic here is our manifesto:
I am a Habit Mechanic.
I DON’T USE OUTDATED SELF-HELP AND COACHING METHODS that are becoming less and less effective in the challenging modern world.
I use proven insights from cutting-edge neuroscience, behavioral science, and psychology to develop my own resilience and performance habits.
Then I use the same techniques to help those around me thrive and succeed.
I change people’s lives by empowering them to be their best.
My fellow Habit Mechanics help me to be my best.
I am only ONE HABIT AWAY!
How will following your advice improve your readers’ lives?
If you read The Habit Mechanic you will be empowered to:
- Improve work-life balance
- Understand yourself by developing your “Habit Mechanic intelligence”
- Discover your “Destructive Habits” and your “Super Habits”
- Supercharge motivation
- Reduce stress
- Stop beating yourself up
- And so much more!
Let me give you an example of how you can start to get these results by sharing a Habit Mechanic Tool (there are over 30 of these tools in the book) called the Daily Tiny Empowering Action(TEA) Plan. It is based on cutting-edge science but is simple to use. It only takes two minutes to complete and will help you do a little bit better every day.
Step One — Rate Yourself
First, ask yourself this question:
How well did you do your best to be your best and achieve your goals yesterday (or so far today, if yesterday feels like too long ago to remember)?
You could say you did great, or you failed. But I’d like you to be a bit more accurate because this will be more helpful for you. So please rate yourself from 1 (you failed) to 10 (perfect). You are probably somewhere in between.
This is what I call an intelligent Self-Watching exercise.
When I think about how well I did my best to be my best, I consider things like how well I managed my sleep, diet, exercise, stress, and productivity, and how helpful I was to others. You might judge yourself against a different set of criteria.
Step Two — Create a Tiny Empowering Action
After you have given yourself a score, I want you to write down a TEA that will make your life easier over the next 24 hours. Here are some examples I use as my TEAs:
- Only check the news once today.
- Write down a positive reflection at the end of the day.
Try writing your own TEA and see how it changes your life in the next 24 hours.
Step Three — Explain Why
Finally, I want you to consider why doing this will help you be your best.
Here are some examples I use:
- Only check the news once today because it will be less distracting, I will get more done, and I will feel better about myself.
- Write down a positive reflection at the end of the day because it will help me finish the day well, switch off, and sleep better.
- Finally, please write down why doing this (your TEA) will help you be your best.
Here is a complete example of the three steps:
- Best doing score — 7/10.
- TEA — Only check the news once today.
- Why? — It will be easier to focus and be productive.
This was very inspiring and informative. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this interview!
