How to Change

“Why do we know what to do but struggle to do it? The answer lies in understanding and overcoming our human flaws.”

1. Fresh Starts Provide Motivation

Our desire to change often coincides with significant dates. Whether it’s January 1 or a new semester, these moments feel like an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Fresh starts psychologically separate us from past failures, offering a clean slate to try again.

However, while these points in time spur action, they can also disrupt progress. For instance, holiday breaks might energize people to set new health goals, yet they also derail routines, as seen among college students who fell out of their gym habits after semester breaks.

The lesson is twofold: capitalize on these moments to initiate new habits while being cautious not to undo existing positive routines. This dual focus can turn fresh starts into genuine catalysts for transformation.

Examples

• New Year’s resolutions, often tied to fitness or self-improvement plans.
• Birthdays motivating people to reflect and set goals for the year ahead.
• Students losing gym consistency after holiday breaks reveal how timing can also hinder routines.

2. Overcome Impulsivity With Fun Strategies

Impulsivity can derail progress, tempting us with short-term pleasures over long-term goals. Strategies like “temptation bundling” and “gamification” make tasks engaging, helping us stay on track.

Temptation bundling pairs enjoyable activities with beneficial but challenging tasks. For instance, listening to audiobooks while exercising makes the activity more appealing. Gamification, on the other hand, introduces game-like rewards to tasks. Adding progress tracking or leaderboards to work or study can turn mundane jobs into engaging challenges.

Research supports both strategies. Florida students more successfully completed math assignments when allowed to do fun activities like eating snacks or doodling. Similarly, gamified incentives increased Wikipedia editor participation by 20%.

Examples

• Watching a favorite show only during workouts through temptation bundling.
• Earning badges for consistency in apps like Duolingo for gamification.
• Florida students excelling in math tasks when snacks combined learning with pleasure.

3. Tackle Procrastination With Commitment Devices

Procrastination happens when immediate ease trumps long-term responsibilities. Commitment devices, tools that enforce accountability, help us stay disciplined. They create small roadblocks to prevent giving in to distractions.

A great real-world example comes from the Green Bank in the Philippines, which offered locked savings accounts. Customers using these special accounts couldn’t withdraw money until certain conditions were met, leading to an 80% increase in saved funds.

On a personal level, setting stakes like monetary penalties, enlisting a friend to check on progress, or publicizing your goals are effective forms of commitment devices. They ensure procrastination comes with tangible consequences.

Examples

• Locked bank accounts increased Filipino customers’ savings by 80%.
• Friends holding you accountable for skipping tasks.
• Publicly pledging to finish writing a book to motivate consistency.

4. Build Good Habits to Combat Laziness

While laziness is natural at times, habits can combat it by automating behaviors. Once ingrained, positive habits require less mental effort and rely more on our brain's motor control than reasoning centers.

For example, a habit like making exercise part of your routine ensures you don’t hesitate to go to the gym. Neuroscientists support this, showing that deeply ingrained habits are less susceptible to conscious resistance or second-guessing.

Start small and strengthen habits through positive reinforcement. Reward yourself for sticking to your plans, over time turning once-daunting tasks into automatic behaviors.

Examples

• A routine morning workout minimizes decision-making effort.
• Rewarding daily meditation sessions with a treat improves compliance.
• Neuroscience findings demonstrate habit formation rewires the brain for efficiency.

5. Giving Advice Boosts Confidence

Though giving advice might seem counterintuitive, it builds the giver’s confidence. When you reflect on what works for others, you reinforce your ability to adopt similar changes.

Studies show offering advice helps problem solvers realize they possess the necessary skills. A high school experiment found students who gave study tips to younger peers improved their academic performance.

Rather than waiting for unsolicited guidance from others, create structured advice-sharing opportunities. Skip-the-doubt moments can fuel growth and self-assuredness.

Examples

• Students raised their grades by offering study tips to younger classmates.
• Friends encouraging each other in advice clubs reaped double benefits.
• Imagining giving advice to someone else can clarify how to solve our challenges.

6. Beat Peer Pressure by Choosing the Right Crowd

Your social circle influences your decisions and habits deeply, given humans’ tendency toward social adaptation. While negative peer influence is well-documented, positive peer effects are just as significant.

Studies at the US Air Force Academy showed that higher-performing academic peers improved an individual’s GPA significantly. Proximity to hardworking cadets pushed their peers to study rigorously.

To harness this force, align yourselves with groups that share your aspirations. Positive influences amplify motivation and set higher benchmarks for success.

Examples

• Academic success linked to high-performing Air Force Academy peers.
• Surrounding yourself with gym-focused people boosts consistency in workouts.
• Emulating successful friends' methods increases chances of similar achievements.

7. Pair Rewards With Your Efforts

Linking tasks to instant gratification bridges the gap between effort and reward. Even minor reinforcements can boost consistency and keep motivation high.

The concept leverages behavioral psychology—such as giving yourself a small treat after unpleasant tasks. A key study with students saw mathematics performance surge simply by combining problem-solving with indulgent activities.

Use both external rewards like treats and intrinsic motivators to associate fulfillment with accomplishments. Over time, this builds momentum for sustained efforts.

Examples

• Florida students excelled under snack-laden problem-solving assignments.
• Completing career courses because certificates offered symbolic value.
• Linking chores and TV show marathon sessions to stay consistent.

8. Use Public Commitments to Drive Change

Publicly committing to goals adds accountability by tying personal achievements to external perceptions. Visible declarations help enforce strict standards.

Declaring goals online or sharing with friends drives better follow-through. Studies highlight how even publicly announcing weight-loss goals among peers brings better commitment compared to solo attempts.

Leverage communities, or recruit accountability buddies to ensure regular check-ins. Public declarations set challenges that bolster focus.

Examples

• Weight-loss groups benefit participants who commit publicly.
• Social media announcements tie your goals to external expectations.
• Online writing apps urging daily logs increased completion rates via shared timelines.

9. Use Game Mechanics for Long-Term Success

Gamifying everyday tasks introduces tangible, segmented challenges. Leaderboards, online scorecards, and small prizes create context-driven rewards until achieving goals becomes routine.

Gamification proved to work wonders on platforms like Duolingo where reaching skill-level progressions kept users engaged longer term while creating learning communities.

Blend gaming elements by setting milestones, perhaps unlocking “levels” before splurging rewards aids monotony. Resetting slightly different thresholds using apps encourages organic repetitions easier than clocking manually.

Examples

• Duolingo skyrocketing consistent language repetition rates—phrases/per-day milestones.
• Voluntary editors blossomed collectively — split-praising badge-reware optional; exchange attached-gains. Academic-improvers quizzed-board accrued-data behaviors toward quartile-driven “spin-steps alignment!”

Takeaways

1. Combine enjoyable activities with challenging tasks to stay motivated.
2. Surround yourself with friends or peers who embody the habits you want to adopt.
3. Turn unwanted tasks into small, fun challenges with rewards and milestones.