Chemistry creating good habits

In chemistry there is such a thing as the activation energy. This is the minimum amount of energy that is required to tell the system the reaction to occur.

Imagine that you are holding a match and gently touch her side surface of a matchbox. Nothing happens? Not enough energy needed to activate the chemical reaction.

But if you spend with the strength of a match phosphoric surface, that is, create the necessary friction and heat, fire lights up. Effort that you have added, was enough to start the reaction.

In chemistry textbooks activation energy is often portrayed as a similar schedule:

To roll the boulder up the mountain, you need to make an effort. However, from the top of the stone will roll itself already. Similarly, activation of chemical reactions requires extra energy, and then processes occur independently.

Thus, the activation energy - an important concept in chemistry. But what's the use of it in everyday life?

Waste energy wisely

The activation energy is needed not only to chemical reactions, but also new habits. Of course, this is just a metaphor. But whatever habit you may want to get to start the process, it will require efforts.

The more complex chemical reaction, the greater the activation energy needed. With the habits the same story. The more complex the model the desired behavior, the more effort will have to make.

For example, you want to do push-ups in one day. To do this with very little effort. But the habit of doing 100 push-ups a day will require more of the activation energy, more motivation and perseverance.

There is a common problem that you may encounter when forming new habits. In the beginning it easy to be on the rise and be motivated. Big goal makes you think that all you need to change your life - is to get a whole set of new useful habits. And you're stuck in the dreams of the fateful results, and do not do small improvements.

The problem is that the big goals require a lot of energy of activation. In the beginning, when you are motivated, you have the power to get started in the right direction. But pretty soon (usually within a few weeks), the fuse is lost, and you do not have enough energy to activate the habit every day.

Lesson № 1: small habits require a small activation energy, which is why they are more stable. If in the beginning you need a lot of energy, its reserves are being rapidly depleted and the habit of disappearing.

find catalyst

Everyone is looking for life hacking, which is easier to achieve success. Chemists are no exception. And when it comes to chemical reactions, they have a trump card up his sleeve. It catalysts.

The catalyst - a substance that accelerates the reaction. In fact, the catalyst reduces the required amount of activation energy and facilitates the reaction. In this case the catalyst itself is not consumed during the reaction. He needed only to accelerate.

An illustrative example:

When it comes to forming new habits, a catalyst that you can use only one: the environment.

The idea is simple: the circumstances in which we live and work, influence our behavior. There is a logical question: how can we change these circumstances to good habits remained, and harmful - not?

Consider a specific example of how the environment can act as a catalyst for your habits.

Let's imagine that you are trying to acquire the habit of writing 15 minutes a day after work. If you have roommates, restless children or continuously on a TV, you need a lot of energy of activation. If around you so much distraction in some moments you most likely will deviate from the intended plan, if not give up the habit of writing.

Conversely, if you write in a quiet environment, such as a library not far from the house, the environment will be a powerful catalyst for the new behavior. And the habit will be easier.

The environment can affect your eating habits to a greater or lesser extent.

• If you cook shoes and sports clothes in the evening, you need a little less activation energy to go for a jog in the morning.
• If you use the service delivery of food and every morning to your door is brought low-calorie foods, you will need much less activation energy to lose weight.
• If you hide the TV in a cabinet, you are almost to zero will lower amounts of energy required to watch less TV.

Lesson № 2: the right environment - a powerful catalyst for the formation of new habits. It reduces the amount of activation energy needed to start the action.

Get rid of the complicated intermediate steps

The chemical reactions can often be observed the transient state, the intervals between the starting material and reaction product. Intermediate steps are found in the formation of habits.

For example, you want to get habit exercise regularly. This may involve several intermediate steps:

• pay for a gym membership;
• collect duffel bag in the morning;
• call to the gym after work;
• begin to engage with the coach.

Each intermediate step requires its own activation energy. It is necessary to examine each intermediate step and find out which of them you will experience the greatest difficulties. So you will understand where you are missing the activation energy and why the habit does not take root.

Some intermediate steps can be given easily. Let's return to our example with the sport. For example, you do not difficult to buy a ticket and throw the necessary things in a bag in the morning. But you may find that you do not like to go to the gym after work: to get accounts at rush hour, and most of the forces you are wasting in traffic jams. Or you may find that you hate to engage in one-on-one with a coach or, on the contrary, in a crowded gym.

Think about how you can get rid of the problem of intermediate steps and reduce the amount of activation energy needed to form a new habit. In the long term this will facilitate your task. For example, you can go to the gym in the morning, when there is no traffic congestion. Or you can try to perform exercises home and thus kill two birds with one stone: you do not have to spend time on the road and deal with other people in society, if you hesitate. Without these barriers to acquire a habit much easier.

Lesson № 3: Read and understand your habits and see how you can eliminate the intermediate steps that need large reserves of energy of activation (that is, the highest obstacles on your way).

Finally

1. To start working on yourself, you will need the activation energy. The smaller the habit, the less effort you need to make at the outset.
2. Catalysts reduce the activation energy needed to form a new habit. The best catalyst - environmental optimization environment. In the right environment, the formation of any habit is faster.
3. Eliminate intermediate steps that require a lot of activation energy, and to get even the simplest habit will be easier.