The saying goes that a goal without a plan is just a wish. The same can be said of a habit without a structure!
Why? Because structure is like scaffolding. It provides you with a solid and reliable framework to start slowly but surely building good habits.
In fact, structure is a guiding principle that informs and dictates the way we form habits from infancy. So much so, that the US Department of Health & Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control & Prevention underlines Three Main Keys to Building Structure in its parental guidance for toddlers and pre-school children. It pinpoints:
- Consistency – doing the same thing every time
- Predictability – expecting or knowing what is going to happen
- Follow-through – enforcing the consequence (“say what you mean and mean what you say”)
- But successful habit forming (and breaking) gets harder the older we get. We become more set in our ways and change averse. And this is where structure can be the difference between winning or losing with habits.
Why Effective Habit-Forming Stems from Structure
Forming good habits doesn’t have be soul destroying graft with structure providing the template for “consistency, predictability and follow-through”.
For example, structure confirms and amplifies contributory factors such as:
- Making a realistic start – It’s entirely feasible, with commitment and structure, to achieve spectacular results. But you’re more likely to lose interest fast if you task yourself with too much too soon. Case in point: Millions of abandoned gym memberships by the end of every January!
- Getting and staying consistent – Consistency is key. Structuring your goals is so much more powerful than sinking all your time, energy and sometimes money in to becoming all-consumed in a way that isn’t sustainable.
- Replacing bad habits with better ones – Old habits die hard. But they can flatline easier by giving yourself an attractive alternative.
In short, whether you’re looking to manage your inbox better, go for a daily lunchtime walk or overhaul your work life balance, you’ll achieve your objectives with less effort, stress and delay when you understand the interrelationship between habits and structure.
At Stress Matters, our Building and Breaking Habits workshop demonstrates how to grasp and leverage triggers and rewards so you can break old habits and create new ones that serve you better, manage your time more effectively, and create essential boundaries.
Get in touch for more information about how this workshop can support the professional and personal goals of you and your team.
