Using willpower to break the pain cycle

So how do you do with your new year resolutions or when deciding to start a new, healthy behaviour or activity? Do you manage to keep them up, or do they tend to fall by the wayside? Unfortunately too often that’s the case because people don’t persist until the new behaviour becomes ingrained unconsciously.

Studies have shown that it actually takes more like 60 days to develop a new habit, rather than the 21 days we’ve always been led to believe. We also know that willpower is crucial until the new behaviour becomes unconsciously ‘learned’, but unbeknown to most people, will power is like a ‘muscle’ and the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. In fact if you use willpower to help with one activity, very often you are more likely to find yourself doing other things more easily too.

Every habit follows the same pattern of; cue/trigger – behaviour/action – reward.

Once you recognise this it makes it easier to develop new health-enhancing habits, whether that’s: stopping smoking, a new exercise routine, not focusing on your pain/body, coping better when your pain increases etc

Tips

Here are a few tips to help you develop new, behaviours that will help your become fitter and healthier.

1) It’s easier to use willpower when you are doing something for yourself (rather than because someone told you to) or it’s your choice to do it.

This is about taking responsibility, which reduces the resistance towards doing something, even if you don’t particularly like it, or are anxious about it.

2) Identify the cues/triggers.

Make a point of jotting down your current triggers; for example things that might make you want to have a cigarette or eat something unhealthy, or might cause your pain to increase or to start ruminating. While doing this, also write down new cues that you could use to trigger a new behaviour. For example….

a. waking up (if you have decided to exercise or meditate for example as soon as you get up, or not ruminate!)
b. a time of day (if this is when you have decided to commit to the new behaviour)
c. as soon as you notice you are ruminating/analysing/being self-critical (to reduce self-induced stress that can exacerbate pain)
d. every time you go for a walk or take a shower (if you have decided to use this time to be mindful.)

3) Decide on the behaviour/action.

It’s easier to break an old behaviour by replacing it with something, rather than just trying to stop it. Make sure beforehand that you are really clear what you will do when you notice the cue. Rehearse it in your head plenty of times beforehand so it begins to become more automatic when the cue happens.

4) Recognise the reward from your current behaviour.

Every habit produces a reward, however brief. For example,

a. Procrastination – although it can cause a lot of stress actually results initially in you not having to do what you are anxious about.
b. Smoking, eating things you don’t need, drugs, gambling etc provide a distraction from the underlying emotional trigger and create short-term release.
c. Not bending/running/lifting etc because you are anxious about it causing you pain or physical damage, clearly means you don’t get the pain and removes the fear of doing it.

5) Plan a new reward for the habit you wish to develop.

If you focus on the reward, rather than the behaviour, you are more likely to be successful. So focus on feeling healthy and happy, fit, clear-headed or whatever the new behaviour might help you achieve.

So there you have it. To develop new, healthy habitual behaviours that you will do automatically and unconsciously, you just need to follow the tips above! Your willpower will be get stronger as you heed the cues, respond straight away with the behaviour (before you have time to consider it!) and enjoy the reward!