Habits are hard to change

I've been dong some reading today on habits, in the context of how to encourage positive behaviour change (in my job it's specifically pro-environmental behaviours, but it applies in lots of different places). Putting aside the (in my opinion) red-herring arguments about the controversy of government officials using a behavioural insight approach to influence the public's behaviour, I wanted this post to focus on the role of habits in our every day lives, and some thoughts on why and how we might want to change them. This is mainly from a Christian perspective, but incorporating some of the theory and evidence I've been reading about too. This is something that feels relevant to me right now as I prepare to move flat in a week or so's time: I will need to make sure that I maintain the good habits that I've developed, and perhaps use this as an opportunity to displace some bad habits that have built-up during my time in my current place (more on that later).

While reading it struck me that while defining what constitutes a habit at first seems a very intuitive, it's actually very difficult to do so scientifically. Three main features emerge from academia however: a habit is a personal behaviour characterised by a combination of frequency (how often you do it), automaticity (fancy word for "how easy it is to do", e.g., have you ever got in car and driven for 10 minutes along a familiar route before consciously realising what you're doing?), and a stable context for the behaviour to take place.

Habits generally get a bad press - we talk about breaking bad habits, but often even omit the word "bad" because we assume they're not good. But habits can be positive: brushing your teeth every night, or going to the gym after work once a week. In government it's tempting to focus on those habitual behaviours that need to be changed (for benefits to the individual and for society) and neglect those that need to be strengthened or maintained.

As Christians, forming habits can be both good and bad. Learning godly disciplines, such as spending time with God reading his word, or going to church, or praying, are things that most of us want to do more of, but struggle to maintain even if we start well. On the other side, many of us struggle with various cycles of undesirable behaviour or addiction: perhaps we just find ourselves constantly exposing ourselves to things we know shouldn't on the internet or on TV (not just pornographic, popular media has a lot to answer for), or we find ourselves unable to make time for God because we can't make a decision about what to let go of, to stop doing, because it all seems so important (or just because we want to keep doing it, or we realise deep down that we're lazy!). Or perhaps more subtly, we can often get complacent in our worship and service and slip into autonomous routines: we find it easier to "worship" to our favourite songs, or think it's ok just to "turn up" to play in the worship band or help in kids ministry, rather than engaging our hearts in what's going on.

So what help is there for changing habits, or forming new ones? Because habits are generally automatic, things that we barely need to commit conscious effort to achieve, it's hard even to know what our habits are. We need to consciously examine ourselves to see where our (Spirit-inspired) beliefs and attitudes are not matched by our behaviour and are in need of change, or even more importantly, where our attitudes are not in line with Scripture, and have led to the development of bad habits. Whilst performing habits requires little thought, it requires conscious effort to identify the behaviour(s) we'd like to do more of, embed them into our lives and then sustain them, at least in part. We need to regularly examine our hearts and lives to see where our thinking (which we hope is being fed by the Bible and by receiving teaching in church and in cell groups) necessitates a change in action.

So what if you've identified an area where you'd like to change, but don't know what to do next? I'd suggest that there are a few things that can help, from the research I've read. Firstly, research shows that a change in context (moving home, changing job etc) makes us more receptive to change (or even force change upon us, good or bad). But it can be more subtle than that. For me, my laptop has been a major blessing, but it can also be a real distraction in the mornings. If you find yourself procrastinating in the morning, then perhaps just leave your laptop in another room before you go to bed, so that it's not there in the morning, creating space to spend time with God. Or leave your bible right by your bed, or somewhere obvious, so that you see and are reminded to take some time out before leaving the house. It requires effort as well, but these things help.

Secondly, with some behaviours it's important to replace the bad behaviour pretty quickly with a new one, or you'll find your old ways creeping back in. For example, it's not enough to just stop thinking impure thoughts, but so start thinking about good things: Philippians 4:8 says "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." If I tell you not to think about purple elephants, and you spend all your time "trying" not to think about them, I can guarantee that the only thing in your mind is a big purple elephant.

Thirdly, I'm constantly amazed at how much emphasis the bible gives to corporate activity, ie, stuff done with other people, not just on your own. Even our faith is not just ours, it's a shared one, as the family of God! The power of a small group of like-minded people, who you can grow to know, trust and love, will be instrumental in helping you change: through prayer, accountability (asking hard questions and expecting truthful answers) and encouragement. It's not enough to confess something once and have it prayed over by others (although that's certainly necessary), we need frequent, loving fellowship with others who know us individually and support us in our specific battles. I might even say such meetings should become habitual, but the danger there would be that these things become automatic, like a ritual where we ask the same questions and receive the same pat answers (or give them ourselves), when actually we need to actively engage in order to see fruit. These are ongoing battles, which need soldiers to stick together for the marathon that life can be, meeting regularly.

Fourthly, plan to change. If being online late at night is causing you to sin (even if you don't go online with the initial intention of looking at stuff you shouldn't), then at the very least, don't use the computer in your room, especially at night. Make it a habit to only use it when others are around. Putting some sort of accountability software on it might also help (I can recommend a good program to use). If you find it a struggle to get up in the mornings with enough time to give to God as well as shower/brush your teeth/eat breakfast/get dressed, then think about how to make time the night before to get enough sleep, and make a commitment to yourself and to others. Draw a line in the sand, and ask others to stand with you in keeping on the right side of it.

Finally, and most importantly, I want to stress the necessity of keeping our focus on the Word of God, and on relying on the Holy Spirit. The things I've outlined above focus more on the self, and the role we play. Whilst these things are true, and that we do need to engage our minds consciously on weeding out sinful practice and thoughts from our lives, and making godly disciplines commonplace in our routine, none of these are "magic solutions" to the problem of habits. Ultimately by becoming one of God's family we're also becoming part of God's army. This is spiritual warfare, and there are things outside of our control in this. We can't always predict how the devil fights against us, and in our own strength we're powerless to defend ourselves. What an amazing truth it is to know that we have access to the Father through Jesus' death, that the power that raised him from the dead lives in us who are counted free by his blood, and that ultimately he is in control of all things. Scriptural promises! I love it. We need to realise that even the desire to please God, to behave in the way he wants us to, is not in our nature. We had to be made alive, set free, and given a new heart for starters! None of that we did. We will always need the constant guide of the Spirit, to bring about the renewing of our attitudes and hearts to do what's right, to seek Him and his ways as our greatest treasure.

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2.