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MINDSET/HABITS
The Path Principle: A Willpower-Free Way Of Breaking Bad Habits
Reframing how we stop shooting ourselves in the foot
Some of us have had our bad habits longer than a mortgage. We’re great at collecting them as we get older too.
Like the piles of old DVDs, now-defunct gadgets and questionable clothing purchases, this sh*t just piles up over the years. So things get messy.
And even when we know we should get rid of these bad habits, especially the ones stopping us staying healthy and in shape, the standard advice we get isn’t exactly helpful:
“Just stop doing it!” — Yeah, thanks mate.
Well, after 16 years of coaching folks over 40, and trying to keep myself in shape at 48, I’ve learned that trying to white-knuckle your way through breaking a habit is destined to fail.
I had a client, Mike, who would find himself in front of his food cupboard every night around 9pm.
He wanted “a little sumthin’”.
It wasn’t like he didn’t know this was stopping him losing the belly. He’d already tried:
- Pure unadulterated willpower (lasted 3 days)
- Not buying treats (his kids weren’t happy, unpopular Daddy)
