Previously I wrote a blog about how my gratitude practice helped me get through a brutal bout of COVID-19. If you are interested in reading that blog, click here. In short, I described how I could easily engage in my gratitude practice even though I was ill because it was a well-established habit.
Recently, I saw a study that captured my attention because it aimed to understand the extent to which participants could establish a habit of gratitude thinking before sleeping (Lo & Leung, 2020). The researchers defined gratitude as an inclination to appreciate and savor daily events and experiences. Here is what the researchers found (Lo & Leung, 2020).
Forming a mental habit is similar to developing a behavioral habit.
80% of the participants reached the habit of gratitude thinking before sleeping in 72 days.
Daily consistency was not a critical factor in establishing this mental habit.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS? Link a new desired behavior to an existing habit.
This study's broader significance is related to the technique used to establish gratitude thinking as a habit. The primary driver in establishing this new habit was using an already well-established habit of going to bed as the trigger or cue for establishing a new habit. This technique's basis is in decades of research showing that habits are triggered by an environmental cue or by another habitual action.
Forming habits help us obtain our goals by reducing our reliance on conscious awareness and motivation to perform the intended behavior. When behavior and environment are repeatedly associated, the brain goes on automatic to perform the new habit. Many habits in people's daily lives provide opportunities to connect a new behavior to an existing habit. For example, linking changing batteries on the smoke alarm to daylight savings time, brushing your teeth to prompt flossing, or taking vitamins with meals.
Suppose you are struggling to stick to your new year's resolutions. In that case, you might consider linking your desired new behavior to a well-established habit. If you are unsure where to start, you might consider adding gratitude thinking before going to bed. Both research and my personal experiences show that engaging in almost any gratitude practice can make a significant difference in your life. If you are interested in establishing a gratitude practice, take a few minutes to listen to these exercises.
References
LO, T. T., & LEUNG, F. (2020). Modelling Mental Habit Formation in Real Life: An Exploratory Study by Cultivating Habit of Gratitude Thinking. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5926-2430
Snyder, C. R., Lopez, S. J., Pedrotti, J. T. (2010). Positive psychology: The scientific and practical explorations of human strengths. NY: SAGE.