Habit Stacking, for us or against us!

Habit stacking is an incredible hack that I learned about in Atomic Habits by James Clear. He teaches the formula in which you take an existing habit and add a new habit to it to make it easier to tackle.

Examples of habit stacking that I do include:

Meditation while I’m stretching! It can be challenging for me to slow down and meditate so my hack is to meditate and do visualization while I’m stretching after a run.  I’m on my back anyhow, so why not build on it!

Getting my 10 pages of personal development read is done while I’m having my breakfast. Adding 24 oz. of water to the reading and eating helps me tackle my water consumption challenge which can trip me up. If I leave it too late in the day to get my gallon in, I’m up all night. So habit stacking at breakfast is imperative for me.

Habit stacking could be as small as saying something that you’re grateful for out loud as soon as your feet hit the floor in the morning.

There’s no doubt that habit stacking is the secret to accelerated success. I started wondering about the dark side to this. Let me explain. I’ve been doing the Live Hard program (75hard.com) and conquered that challenge during a very difficult season in my life. I lost my dad on day 23 and staying disciplined during that program kept me focused and on a healthy path to healing.

What I have since learned, however, is that we can easily slip into bad habit stacking!  This happened recently when I travelled out of town to take care of an estate issue.  My husband and I arrived at the hotel late. The clocks had just changed, and it was gloomy and cold out.  We’ve continued the Live Hard program even though the 75 days are over, which means that we walk every night after dinner together.  This counts as our second workout for the day and has become a time to unwind, be present with each other and talk through the day.

Well, we arrived late to the hotel after a four-hour drive and I said, “Screw it”! Let’s chill and watch HGTV shows.  So, we skipped our walk and ordered in food. But it wasn’t any food. My thought process was, ok I’ve “ruined” the day by missing my walk, I might as well enjoy pizza! Then, my justification for a glass of wine came in to play and the rest is history.  While I didn’t overindulge in anything that weekend, I felt sluggish, disappointed, and frustrated with myself.

I came to realize quickly that we can stack exceptional, positive habits and create a life of discipline and freedom.  We can also just as quickly stack terrible habits that leave us feeling tired and disappointed in ourselves.

Am I alone here or can anyone relate?

What was most important to do was to get back on track.  To stop beating myself up for missing the mark and get refocused on my health goals and disciplined lifestyle. You can do the same too.  If you’ve felt like the past few days, months, or even years have lacked positive habit stacking, know that you’re not alone and that you can literally change the trajectory of your life starting today.

That said, what will you do today that your future self with thank you for tomorrow?