The Identity Switch: An Effortless, Lethal Method for Unavoidable Success by AJ Winters

Author:AJ Winters [Winters, AJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-04-30T04:00:00+00:00

Pitfalls of Baby Steps

There are a few dangers that can rear their heads when you try to apply Baby Steps. Here are some common ones to avoid:

Scorning the Baby Step

The biggest mistake is to scorn the Baby Step.

Many people think that trying to start a new habit with Baby Steps won’t work. We’re so indoctrinated to think that we need to take massive action and move forward in leaps and bounds that we ignore the potential of committing to Baby Steps.

Another common mistake is to claim to commit to Baby Steps when deep down we actually commit to doing much more.

For instance, when I first read about Scott Adam’s gym-going habit, I decided to set myself a Baby Step target of changing into my workout clothes each day. If I changed into my workout clothes but did nothing else that day, I’d call it a success.

At least, that’s what I claimed. Deep down, however, I was determined to do more than just change into workout clothes every day. “Workout clothes,” I thought to myself. “Pffft. What good does changing into workout clothes do if you don’t do any actual exercise?”

Internally, I was committed to not just changing into my workout clothes but also doing a thirty-minute cardio session. Or at least, some kind of exercise – even a fifteen minute abs session or a ten minute upper body strength session.

As you can see, I was committed to much more than just a Baby Step.

Things started off very well: I’d change into my workout clothes, feel jazzed up enough to do something, and exercise a little.

Then one day, I got some unpleasant news in the morning, and I was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. “Why do I have to exercise today?” I moaned to myself. “I hate exercise. Can’t I catch a break, just once?”

Of course, I reminded myself that my target was to change into my workout clothes – and nothing else. But I felt a niggling resistance. My brain knew I was trying to trick it. It could just tell. Nevertheless, I changed into my exercise gear and felt a bit of smug triumph. Ah-ha! I could do it even when I was feeling down.

But my logical self quickly wiped away my smugness. “That’s not enough,” she said. “You need to do some actual exercise. Otherwise, how can you call this an exercise habit?”

I felt defeated. I had changed. I’d performed my part of the bargain, but it hadn’t been enough. And now I needed to exercise, and I just didn’t feel like it. It was awful.

I wound up not doing any exercise that day. I changed out of my workout clothes feeling disappointed in myself, and I never tried to trick myself into “just changing” again. It clearly didn’t work. What could have been the start of a consistent exercise habit was flushed down the drain, and all those “exercise habit” neural pathways were overridden.

I share this story to highlight how dangerous it can be to expect too much from ourselves – even when we think we’re being sly.

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