22 Nov How Our Small Habits Can Make Us Happier Beings
As you may well know, I’m a fan of habits.
I’ve written a whole series of Audible audiobooks / podcasts based on the premise of … habits.
(you can find “Habits for Happiness”, “Habits for Happiness at Work” and more … HERE)
But if you’d like a good and quick read, all about how habits can make us happier, then …
via Thrive Global by Dr Tal Leead
Each time you experience yourself behaving as the type of person you want to be, you reassure and reinforce that identity formation.
[… This] lays down the crux of what we call “self-perception theory,” first posited by Dr. Daryl Bem. The basic idea is that when you see yourself doing something, you figure “that is me.” Previous to this theory, scientists believed that self-knowledge drove behavior – that if we knew who we were inherently/internally, we could choose behaviors aligned with our thoughts, beliefs, values, etc. But Dr. Bem proved that our opinions about ourselves are formed exactly like our opinions about others – by judging our behavior.
[… This] is in part why, when you are often late but you do not see yourself as someone who is always late, it causes you greater stress when you are, once again, late. (In a sense, you experience what is called cognitive dissonance. In other words, your beliefs and thoughts about yourself are inconsistent with your behavior). Thus, your identity is driven by your actions, and your actions build your identity. As John Dryden brilliantly says, “We first make our habits, then our habits make us.”
[…] Forming your desired identity through habits is about taking action first – and that takes both courage and consistency. [It] is not about trying to feel your way into it, contemplating perhaps I will do it today, or else – I will try tomorrow. It’s about proving to yourself that you cannot only do it but that this is what you are doing. This is who you are. You are someone who is committed to optimizing your well-being, and in the process, you are becoming a Happier Being…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE