Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 484 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Habit Domino

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 484 of our trek, and today is Motivation Monday. Every Monday we hike the trails of life that will encourage and motivate us to live rich and satisfying lives this week. Today let us explore the trail called The Habit Domino.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This past extended Thanksgiving weekend was filled with activities and time with family. We had two Thanksgiving dinners, one at my brother’s home on Thursday and one at our home on Saturday. We were also able to harvest several more loads of leaves, so we are making progress on that front. There are still quite a few leaves still on the trees, so that will entail a couple more weekends of work to finish all the leaves.

As we head into December and the Christmas season this week, there are many activities yet to come. Much of the activities in our lives are made up of habits that we have acquired over the years. Habits can be either good or bad, but are usually linked to each other, which is why it is difficult to change them. As we break camp and head out on our trek for today, let us invest time exploring the concept of…

The Habit Domino

· The Habit Domino

The Habit Domino states that when you make a change to one behavior, it will activate a chain reaction and cause a shift in related behaviors as well.

For example, a 2012 study by researchers at Northwestern University found that when people decreased their amount of sedentary leisure time each day, they also reduced their daily fat intake. The participants were never specifically told to eat less fat, but their nutrition habits improved as a natural side effect because they invested less time on the couch watching television and mindlessly eating. One habit led to another. One domino knocked down the next.

You may notice similar patterns in your own life. As a personal example, if I stick with my habit of getting up early and exercising, then I naturally find myself more focused at work and sleeping more soundly at night even though I never made a plan to specifically improve either behavior.

The Habit Domino holds for negative habits as well. You may find that the habit of checking your phone leads to the habit of clicking social media notifications, which leads to the habit of browsing social media mindlessly and to another 20 minutes of procrastination.

In the words of Stanford professor BJ Fogg, “You can never change just one behavior. Our behaviors are interconnected, so when you change one behavior, other behaviors also shift.”

· Inside the Habit Domino

As best I can tell, the Habit Domino occurs for two reasons.

First, many of the habits and routines that make up our daily lives are related to one another. There is an astounding interconnectedness between the systems of life, and human behavior is no exception. The inherent relatedness of things is a core reason why choices in one area of life can lead to surprising results in other areas, regardless of the plans you make.

Second, the Habit Domino capitalizes on two of the core principles of human behavior – commitment and consistency. One habit influences another. The core idea is that if people commit to an idea or goal, even in a very small way, they are more likely to honor that commitment because they now see that idea or goal as being aligned with their self-image.

As an example, say you were not in the habit of making your bed in the morning, but then made the commitment to start doing so. Making your bed each day is making a small commitment to the idea of, “I am the type of person who maintains a clean and organized home.” After a few days, you will begin to commit to this new self-image in other areas of your home, such as picking up your clothes or keeping the room swept clean.

This is an interesting byproduct of the Habit Domino. It not only creates a cascade of new behaviors but also a shift in personal beliefs as well. As each tiny domino falls, you start believing new things about yourself and building identity-based habits.

· The Rules of the Habit Domino

The Habit Domino is not merely a phenomenon that happens to you but something you can create. It is within your power to spark a chain reaction of good habits by building new behaviors that naturally lead to the next successful action.

There are four keys to making this work in real life. Here are the four rules of the Habit Domino:

1. Start with the thing you are most motivated to do. Start with a small behavior and do it consistently. This will not only feel satisfying but also open your eyes to the type of person you can become. It does not matter which domino falls first, as long as one falls.
2. Maintain momentum and immediately move to the next task you are motivated to finish. Let the momentum of finishing one task carry you directly into the next behavior. With each repetition, you will become more committed to your new self-image.
3. When in doubt, break things down into smaller chunks. As you try new habits, focus on keeping them small and manageable. The Habit Domino is about progress, not results. Simply maintain the momentum. Let the process repeat as one domino automatically knocks down the next.
4. The Habit Domino is a compound effect. Start with small habits that you can easily complete and then move forward to ever larger habits that can be completed by the sheer momentum of the previous habit. Once a small habit falls, it sets into motion a cascade of accomplishments.

When one habit fails to lead to the next behavior, it is often because the behavior does not adhere to these four rules. There are many different paths to getting dominoes to fall. Focus on the behavior you are excited about, and let it cascade throughout your life. This cascading effect of knocking over increasingly larger dominos, or habits, reminds me of Jesus’s story in Matthew 25:21, “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’”

in your life? Let me know if I can help you in establishing this cascading effect in your life.

Tomorrow’s short trek is part of our Wisdom Unplugged series that we are now hiking on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These 3-minute wisdom supplements will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise throughout the entire week. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy these daily doses of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person when you meet with them and invite them to come along with us each day. If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek so each trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!