Strategy #5: Make the behavior more difficult to do

If you remember Strategy #2, today we are looking at the exact opposite approach. Now we are trying to unlearn a behavior that we no longer want.  We do this by weakening the antecedent that sets the stage for the unwanted behavior to occur.

I practiced for this?

Habits don’t just happen overnight. They are the result of certain behaviors practiced over time. You have conditioned yourself like an athlete, with focus and dedication, to acquire every behavior you do easily. Some of your behaviors help you. You don’t have an issue with those ones. It’s the behaviors that cause you grief that you can do without.

When you do something you don’t want to do, and you do it regularly, the main problem is it’s very easy.  The antecedent is too convenient.

• Eating junk food is easy because poor food choices are everywhere.
• Overspending is easy because there are so many payment options.
• Smoking is easy because all your friends smoke.

With today’s strategy you will be making the habit seem like a hassle. When something seems too difficult you are less likely to do it.

You know this stuff.

You already do a version of this. Say you are planning a weekend with some friends. Someone suggests kayaking as a fun activity. Hoping for something a little more relaxing you put your two cents in. “That’s going to take a lot of work. We’ll need to book the kayaks. We don’t have a vehicle to transport them. Is there even a good place to rent kayaks around here? And what about life jackets. Plus the time it will take to get to the water. I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

To the best of your ability you paint a picture of how unpleasant the entire ordeal will be. If you do a good job of this the kayaking idea will be nixed by the group. Take that same enthusiasm and creativity and apply it to your own behavior. (Of course, your kayaking friend may know Strategy #2; countering every objection you have with how easy it will be to set up. The battle is on.)

Some ways to make things difficult for yourself.

Tempted to eat junk food? Shop for groceries only on a full stomach from a list. The urge to buy unhealthy choices is much less when you are already satisfied. If you don’t bring junk food home it’s not sitting in your cupboard when you crave it. You’ll have to go out. This may be just enough hassle to make you reconsider.

Tempted to overspend? Commit to paying cash for anything frivolous (i.e. non-essential)…and don’t carry any cash. Promise yourself that you can have the frivolous item as long as you go directly to your bank, right up to a teller (not a bank machine), and withdraw the money in person. That’s a hassle. When was the last time you even visited your bank?

Tempted to smoke with your friends? Spend more time with your non-smoking friends. Let them drive you around in their non-smoking cars . Eat at non-smoking restaurants. You get the idea.

To the extreme.

An extreme use of this strategy is to make the behavior impossible. You completely remove the antecedents.

Fat camps work on this premise. There are no unhealthy foods at these facilities. Exercise is prescribed. There is no possibility to make a wrong choice of behavior.

The major drawback to removing choice is that you do not learn to make wiser choices. Once you go back to a choice laden environment the antecedents are still in effect. You may find your old conditioning cropping back up. This lack of learning is why I consider this application of Strategy #5 to be a last resort.

The pause that refreshes.

By applying the “hassle factor” to your behavior you still have the freedom to choose. You are simply providing yourself with some time while you consider what would be in your best interest in the moment.

With the overspending tactic (above), as you drive to the bank to withdraw some cash you have time to reflect. You are pausing between the antecedent and the knee-jerk behavior. You are giving yourself the opportunity to make a better decision. And if you still decide to make the purchase you will feel better about it because for some reason it makes abundant sense to you. Look what you just went through to get it.