BJ Fogg’s TedX talk on habits, behavior and change is fascinating.

My big takeaway is that long-term change isn’t dependant on motivation.  That shocked me.  Think how many articles you’ve read on how to get motivated to diet.  I, personally, have read dozens over the years.  According to Fogg’s talk, motivation helps for short-term change, but not so much for long term.

Long term needs a change in environment — social or physical — or develop new habits.  I think I’ve changed my environment by using Hello Fresh and Amazon to minimize my exposure to the grocery stores and restaurants.

The idea of building tiny habits by stacking them on other habits is also interesting, but I’m not sure I can carry out the idea.  It’s a little embarrassing to admit this, but I don’t have many daily habits.  For example, some mornings I will brush my hair.  Other mornings I like how it looks (or I’m in a hurry) so I don’t brush it.  Or I’ll brush it at work instead of at home.  Some days I eat breakfast at home, other days in the car, sometimes in front of my desk, and occasionally not at all.  I fall asleep in a recliner at 9:00, or I’m up until 2:00 AM and sleep in a bed.  Since I’m consistently inconsistent, I don’t have many base habits to use as a springboard to new habits.

Also, the few reliable habits I have are centered at work, but my two issues — food habits and personal creativity — mostly happen away from work.

I have to think about this.  Maybe I need to do remedial work and establish baseline habits that normal people have first, then somehow build those small habits into new food preferences.

I can at least start taking vitamins when I log into my workplace computer.  That’s a start.