Your Future Self Will Thank You

by Drew Dyck

  So how does willpower relate to habit?

  Imagine someone gave you $1,000 toward your retirement. What should you do with it? One strategy would be to save the money. Put it in in a safe and don’t touch it until the day you stop working. The problem is $1,000 isn’t much money, not when it comes to funding a retirement. If you managed to save every penny of that money, at best it would fund a few weeks of your retirement. Of course, there’s a second strategy: invest it. In a solid investment, that modest sum of money would grow exponentially. When it came time to retire, it could make a significant difference.

  That’s a good way to think about willpower. It’s a relatively small resource, easily exhaustible. It doesn’t get us very far. So we need to be strategic about how we use it. We can save it up, which is wise in some instances. But by far the best use of willpower is to use it to initiate healthy patterns of behavior. We need to invest it in good habits.

  In a moment we’ll look at specific strategies for how to do that. We’ll examine what recent research tells us about how habits function and what we can do to change them. But before we do, let me say a word about how all of this relates to Christian faith. You might read the following strategies and wonder, What does this have to do with the Bible?

  It’s a good question, and I don’t want to overstate my case. After all, Christians for centuries got by without a scientific understanding of how habits worked. But I think there are some scriptural principles that encourage us to avail ourselves of this knowledge. The Bible commends forethought and intentionality when it comes to controlling our behavior. We’re warned to “make no provision for the flesh” and instructed to “learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable” (1 Thess. 4:4). We’re told to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2), and Scripture is replete with examples of godly characters who took preemptive measures to safeguard themselves against sin (Job 31:1; 1 Cor. 9:27). And, like I wrote in the last chapter, Scripture has tons to say about building holy patterns of action and thought into your life. I see no reason why we shouldn’t glean understanding that has come from studying our God-given psychology in order to fulfill these biblical injunctions. Let’s look at some of those strategies now.

  BEATING PROCRASTINATION

  “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor” (Prov. 12:24).

  I’m not sure this verse is about procrastination per se, but it sure feels like it could be. When we’re too lazy to tackle important tasks, it usually ends in “forced labor”—stress, scrambling, maybe even pulling an all-nighter to beat a deadline.

  So how can we defeat the beast of procrastination? Here are a few tips.

  Visit the future. In one study, researchers found that people who are shown digitally aged pictures of themselves put away more money for the future.10 Why? Because suddenly they are able to visualize (literally) their future selves—and they don’t want them to be broke! You can do a similar exercise with whatever tasks you tend to put off. Take an imaginative leap forward and imagine how good you will feel once the task is completed—or how bad you will feel if it isn’t. We procrastinate because it gives us pleasure in the short term. Watching Netflix is easier than writing that paper. Slapping the snooze feels better than hitting the treadmill. Doing a little time travel frees you from the tyranny of the present and motivates you to take action today.

  Start small. Often we put off projects because we’re immobilized by their sheer size and complexity. To overcome this psychological hurdle, figure out a manageable first step and concentrate on that. Try and write a symphony and it will probably never happen. Instead, try writing a few notes. Launching a business is too daunting. But you can start on a business plan. Once you actually begin, you’ll be surprised how much progress you make. As with so many things in life, starting is the hardest part. So start small.

  Have a little faith. Procrastination is basically a delusion about time. On some level we don’t really believe that doing the right thing today will pay off tomorrow. But Scripture is full of reminders that we reap what we sow. Even when we feel like our efforts are futile, we’re encouraged to keep going. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9). If your goals are righteous and God-honoring, you can rest assured that working hard now will be worth it. So have a little faith. Sow today so you can reap tomorrow. You can beat procrastination.

  RIDING ELEPHANTS, LEARNING LOOPS

  The psychologist Jonathan Haidt uses a memorable metaphor to explain how we can do this.11 He likens habit to an elephant, “a strong, tireless animal,” and willpower to an elephant rider. An elephant can carry heavy loads great distances. The rider atop the large creature rarely exerts much effort. If the elephant is trained, the rider needs only to push and pull occasionally to send the creature in the desired direction. The elephant does most the work. In the same way, by using our willpower (our conscious effort) to train our habits, we can establish healthy routines that carry us through life.

  But how do you train an elephant? It starts with gaining a deeper understanding of the creature.

  In the last chapter I provided a bare-bones definition of a habit as action that becomes a pattern of unconscious behavior. But a closer look reveals that every habit has three distinct parts: a cue, a routine, and a reward. The cue is a trigger, an external signal that prompts your brain to go into an automatic mode. The cue initiates a routine, the behavior you perform. Finally there’s the reward, some kind of payoff that reinforces the behavior.

  The more often you run through this sequence, the more powerful the habit becomes. Soon the cue produces strong emotions, even cravings. Eventually, when you encounter a cue it’s almost impossible to resist engaging in the routine to receive the reward. It’s a vicious—or virtuous—circle.

  THE HABIT LOOP12

  When I discovered the 3-stage “habit loop,” I started to understand my behaviors in a new light. Especially my undesirable behaviors. For instance, like many people, I eat too much when I’m in social situations. When I try a new diet, I usually do well—until I find myself with a group of people. At home, during the week, I can stick to the plan. But then the weekend comes. If I go to a party or out to dinner with friends, my resolve unravels. Suddenly I’m a human garbage disposal. And it happens with very little thought given to the bad choices I’m making. Amid conversations, I consume pizza, chicken wings, French fries, cake, cookies, or whatever’s available.

  In addition to being unhealthy, it can also be embarrassing. At least for my wife. Recently we attended a fancy fundraiser with catered food. It was held in a sprawling estate, overlooking the city. It was one of the most beautiful houses I’d ever seen. As I made conversation with the other guests, I feasted on beef samosas, bruschetta, and Asian spring rolls. Somewhere during this splurge, I felt someone clutch my arm. It was my wife. “That’s your third plate,” she whispered. “You might want to slow down.”

  She was right. I was out of control. Even one of the caterers had made a comment about how hungry I must be. I decided I was done eating for the evening. Yet later in the night, when they brought out the desserts, somehow I found myself filling up another plate.

  This experience, and countless others like it, have made me realize that I have a habit of eating poorly in social situations. Understanding the habit loop has helped me break it down. The cue is the social context. What’s the routine? Munching like there’s no tomorrow. How about the reward? That’s a little trickier. It could just be the food. I do love food. But that wouldn’t explain why I’m able to resist eating poorly at home. Plus (and this is strange) sometimes I don’t even enjoy the food I’m eating.

  I remember one gathering where I spent the evening grazing on a bowl of mixed crackers that contained hot wasabi peas. I didn’t like them, but I kept going back for more. Each time I bit into one of the peas, I grimaced. Yet every few minutes I’d shovel more into my m
outh, like a rat coming back for another electric shock. Why? I was curious enough to Google it. I found one study showing that people-pleasers eat more at parties (even when they’re not hungry) just to keep pace with the people around them.13 I’m a people-pleaser extraordinaire, so perhaps that partially explains it.

  But I think there’s another factor. I’ve concluded that my habit of eating too much in social contexts is a sort of nervous tic. It alleviates social anxiety. It calms me. It gives me something to do with my hands and my mouth. Take that fancy fundraiser. I was surrounded by strangers. Wealthy strangers. It’s intimidating enough to strike up conversations with people you don’t know, harder still when they “summer” in the south of France (and you “summer” in the same place that you “winter”).

  Understanding the habit loop has helped me tackle my bad habit of eating too much in social situations. I can’t eliminate this cue from my life (I don’t want to become a hermit, even if I’m a skinny one). But now when I’m in a social situation, I try to come in with a plan. Since I know a social context is a cue to eat poorly, I decide beforehand how much I’ll allow myself to eat. Another trick I employ is to chew gum. It gives me something to do with my mouth. And since I’d have to spit it out to eat, it’s often enough to prevent me from starting.

  I’m not the only who has benefited from a greater understanding of how habits work. Studies show that just teaching people about the mechanics of habit has a huge positive impact on their behavior. One series of studies showed the profound impact of teaching exercisers about how habits work. Charles Duhigg wrote about the results in The New York Times:

  The results were dramatic. Over the next four months, those participants who deliberately identified cues and rewards spent twice as much time exercising as their peers. Other studies have yielded similar results. According to another recent paper, if you want to start running in the morning, it’s essential that you choose a simple cue (like always putting on your sneakers before breakfast or leaving your running clothes next to your bed) and a clear reward (like a midday treat or even the sense of accomplishment that comes from ritually recording your miles in a log book). After a while, your brain will start anticipating that reward—craving the treat or the feeling of accomplishment—and there will be a measurable neurological impulse to lace up your jogging shoes each morning.14

  Duhigg’s conclusion: “simply understanding how habits work makes them easier to control.”15 Equipped with this knowledge, the exercisers could think strategically about using cues and rewards to reinforce their exercise routine. To borrow Haidt’s language, understanding the elephant made them better riders.

  CREATE HABITS ONE AT A TIME

  Every year millions of Americans (including me) make New Year’s resolutions. Of course, just as predictably as these resolutions are made, they’re broken. By February, 80 percent of us have stopped jogging, started sleeping in, or jumped headfirst back into whatever old habits we promised to break. Within mere weeks, that list we conceived in a burst of optimism becomes a quiet source of shame. Twelve months after making our resolutions, only 8 percent of us have stuck with them. Why?

  Well, the first problem is that we tend to make New Year’s resolutions (plural). A New Year’s resolution would stand a chance at sticking; resolutions, however, have nearly no chance. It goes back to our conversation about willpower. Like we’ve seen, once a habit is established it takes very little effort to keep it going. Just tug the elephant’s ear occasionally, and the large animal keeps lumbering along. But that’s not true of initiating a new habit. Forming a new habit (especially a good habit) is a tremendous draw on your willpower reserves. Initially the new behavior may be physically or mentally challenging. It will cut against the grain of your natural inclinations. It’s takes effort. Lots of it. Multiply that output of effort by three or four or five, like we often do with New Year’s resolutions, and you’re almost guaranteed to fail. It’s like trying to climb a mountain—with someone on your back.

  Remember Benjamin Franklin’s audacious goal to achieve moral perfection? That might sound like one goal, but it wasn’t. He identified thirteen different practices he wanted to master. Thirteen! No wonder he found it “a task of more difficulty than [he] had imagined.” Striving for perfection in thirteen areas of moral behavior all at once overtaxed even Franklin’s prodigious will. The upshot was that he failed to make much progress in any of them. Only once he corrected his mistake, and opted to focus on one at a time, did he begin to make some headway.

  We’d be wise to do the same. If you’re trying to build new habits in your life, introduce them one at a time. Don’t start a diet the same day you begin running. Don’t launch a new Bible reading program the same day you resolve to start praying every morning. This may feel counterintuitive. There are defining moments in life when we want to reset and change everything. In our zeal to begin fresh, we resolve to change all kinds of behaviors at once. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm to make sweeping changes guarantees we’ll fail to make any. So rather than trying to create multiple habits at once, focus on creating one habit at a time. Once you’ve established one healthy habit, then use your replenished willpower to move on and create another.

  NUDGE YOURSELF TO BETTER CHOICES

  We like to think that our actions are based purely on free will. But as we’ve already seen, friends, habits, and energy levels all influence our decisions. There’s another factor to consider—the choices available to us. The options we’re presented with play a powerful role in determining our behavior.

  Arranging options to encourage healthy or virtuous decisions is what economists Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein call “choice architecture.”16 For example, studies have shown that the number of organ donors doubles when people are asked to opt out of being a donor rather than opting in. The way the choice is presented has a dramatic impact on how people respond. Choice architecture is all around us, and it doesn’t always work in our favor. When you walk into a grocery store, you encounter the produce section first. That’s by design. The owners know that once you put some asparagus in your cart, you’ll give yourself permission to pick up Oreos when you hit Aisle 7.

  I became something of a choice architect when I had children. “You can eat your broccoli and stay up for another hour, or you can skip it and go to bed right now,” I announce to my kids. I don’t mention that I was going to let them stay up for another hour anyway, but suddenly they’re cramming broccoli into their mouths. Choice architecture strikes again.

  Thaler and Sunstein note that when people are presented with a range of choices, they will usually take the path of least resistance. The key then is to rig the system in favor of healthy behaviors. They advocate for “nudging” people toward better conduct by limiting their options and making good choices easier.

  While Thaler and Sunstein apply the concept of choice architecture to governments and corporations, there’s no reason we can’t use it in our personal lives. So become your own choice architect. Think through the choices you’re giving yourself every day. Does the food in your cupboard encourage healthy eating? Even if you have healthy food in your house, if it takes longer to prepare, you’ll probably opt for quicker, less healthy options. What about exercise? Does your preferred mode of physical activity require a lot of equipment and a drive across town? If so, you’ll usually stay on the couch.

  Think through your spiritual habits too. If you give yourself an option of scrolling through Facebook or reading your Bible, you’ll probably choose the former. It’s not necessarily because you’re unspiritual; it’s just that reading your friends’ updates is easier than reading Scripture. So keep your phone out of your room and put your Bible beside your bed. By arranging your choices to support better decisions, you’ll find your behavior improves. It takes a little effort and forethought to arrange the choices you encounter every day, but it’s worth it. Your future self will thank you.

  SWAP AND START SMALL

  “A nail i
s driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit,” wrote the sixteenth-century theologian Desiderius Erasmus. Five centuries later we understand just how right he was. Study after study has demonstrated the wisdom of starting a new habit by replacing an old one. By doing this, you essentially get a two-for-one deal: you lose a bad habit, while gaining a good one. Smokers, for instance, are very unlikely to quit if they don’t find some replacement behavior to smoking. “You can’t extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it,” Duhigg writes. And the way to change it is to perform a sort of surgery on the loop of the bad habit. “To change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.”17

  When trying to establish a new, healthy habit, start small. If you try to do too much on Day One you’ll drain your willpower and fail to repeat the behavior the next day. And without repetition, new habits can’t take hold. Remember: at the outset, you’re trying to trick your brain into forming a new habit. Psychologists refer to this approach as forming “tiny” or “micro” habits. It’s a tactic to use the habit loop to create a pattern of behavior that you can build on.

  Say you want to start running every morning. Begin by identifying a cue: maybe it’s drinking a health shake or seeing your running shoes at the front door. Then perform the routine in a way that doesn’t demand exerting too much effort. Perhaps it’s just walking around the block once. Or it could be even smaller: put your shoes on and jog in place for thirty seconds. When you finish, give yourself a reward. It could be a cup of coffee, a piece of chocolate, or a few minutes watching TV.

  At first, it might feel silly to reward yourself for completing such a small task. But remember, you’re conditioning your brain. When you see those shoes by the door, your brain will expect exercise. As you exercise, it will begin anticipating a reward. As you move through this habit loop repeatedly—cue, routine, reward—the behavior will become cemented into your life, and you can gradually increase the intensity of your workouts. Soon you’ll head out to run every morning without even thinking about it.