In reply to "Finding invisible barriers to new habits"

Thank you a lot for this nice insight into your process of creating a new habit. All the best with making it stick long-term!

Some time after starting Uni, I spent a lot of my time trying to figure out how to do exactly that. I came to the conclusion* that a lot of it comes down to behaviour being formed by our surroundings, and ended up describing myself as a systems thinker** because of that, probably to the mild annoyance of the friends I talked to during that time (sorry!).

These days, when I’m serious about wanting to adopt a habit, I do the same thing you describe and try to adapt my surroundings to guide me into it. It works with varying success. For example, I have had the exact same experience with a regular alarm: After some time, me and my partner just referred to it as the “three o’clock alarm” and I turned it off without thinking about it a second time.

I suppose the same rule applies, both for pursuing a habit and reducing the barriers standing in the way: Consistency is key. So, as you say yourself: Onward!

* not to imply I’m done with the process of learning about habits. I don’t think I ever will be!

** Side note on translation: The German term “Systemiker” I think of appearantly translates, in the most literal sense, to English “systems thinker”. However, in German it also feels similar to words like stoic, critic or mechanic that describe someone holding a conviction or somone who leared a trade. Maybe “systemic” would could capture this?