Byw'n Rhydd: Mae Hen Arferion yn Anodd eu Torri

Whether you realize it or not, your daily life is largely comprised of countless habits. When you perform any given action, say rinsing your toothbrush with water after adding the toothpaste, your brain forms neural pathways specific to that exact action. Each subsequent time you repeat this action, those pathways are strengthened. And so, the habit is formed and you now exclusively brush your teeth in this certain manner, likely without thinking much of it. That is, until you get into a heated argument with your mate who only rinses his toothbrush before the toothpaste, like some sort of wild animal.

While the toothpaste example ultimately has little to no effect on your life, other habits certainly do. If you instinctively drive to the gym after clocking out at 5:00 pm, congratulations, you’ve established yourself a good habit (though your friends and coworkers really don’t need or want to hear about it, so lay off social media while you’re there please). Now, let’s say when you are at the gym you exclusively work your “Bis and Tris,” you’re going to be a top-heavy jackass who’s not making the most of his workouts. This, good sir, would be a bad habit. But never fear, we’ve got you covered. Here’s advice on how to break those pesky bad habits of yours.

Mae sawl dull gwahanol o dorri arferion, ond y mwyaf buddiol yn ein profiad ni yw'r syniad a gyflwynwyd gan Nir Eyal, graddedig o Stanford (felly rydych chi'n gwybod ei fod yn gredadwy), awdur Wedi'ch Tynnu: Sut i Adeiladu Cynhyrchion sy'n Ffurfio Arferion. It’s called progressive extremism. The idea is relatively straightforward; you need to think in terms of identity as opposed to willpower. For example, if you’re trying to stop using your cellphone mindlessly (and let’s be honest, it wouldn’t kill us to spend a little more time in the real world), you should think of yourself as “a person who uses his phone minimally,” as opposed to “a person ceisio i ddefnyddio ei ffôn yn llai.” Pan fyddwch chi'n newid sut rydych chi'n diffinio'ch hun, mae eich gweithredoedd yn dod yn gynnyrch pwy ydych chi. Dylech chi feddwl yn nhermau “peidio â” yn lle “methu”: “Dydw i ddim yn defnyddio fy ffôn llawer,” nid “Alla i ddim defnyddio fy ffôn gymaint.”

Nawr, gadewch i ni roi'r syniadau hyn mewn cwrs gweithredu cam wrth gam.

1. Adnabod y arferiad rydych chi am ei dorri. Yn yr enghraifft flaenorol, byddai hynny'n defnyddio'ch ffôn symudol yn ddi-hid.
2. Dechreuwch yn fach and choose a component of this habit that is extremely easy to break. If you never even downloaded Temple Run back when everyone was playing it, you can confidently say, “I do not play Temple Run.” This begins the process of getting in the mindset of someone who doesn’t use his or her cellphone much. Make a list of these little things that you will no longer erioed do. Way to go, you’re already breaking that habit.Perhaps you want to quit smoking (one of the hardest habits to kick). In this case, pick a trigger that you don’t currently indulge in. If you’re not the kind of smoker that pulls out a cig whenever you walk, start here.
3. Arhoswch ac yna ailaseswch beth arall y gallwch chi ei wneud. Yr allwedd i'r cam hwn yw peidio â mynd yn rhy bell. Os yw'n teimlo fel rhywbeth a fyddai'n anodd i chi ei wneud, rydych chi wedi gwneud gormod yn rhy gyflym. Dylai pob gweithred ddilynol deimlo'n ddiymdrech. Yn yr achos hwn, efallai y byddwch yn penderfynu peidio â bod ar eich ffôn wrth archebu coffi neu mai dim ond ar gyfer cerddoriaeth y byddwch yn defnyddio'ch ffôn wrth ymarfer. Unwaith eto, ni ddylai'r cam nesaf hwn fod yn rhywbeth rydych chi'n ei chael hi'n anodd; dylai fod yn rhywbeth y gallwch chi fod yn falch o'i wneud (neu beidio â'i wneud) am byth. Yn yr enghraifft ysmygu, efallai ei bod hi'n amser anghofio am eich sigaréts boreol neu'r un ar ôl pryd o fwyd.
4. Parhau i ailwerthuso'r newidiadau rydych chi'n gallu eu gwneud. Peidiwch â brysio'r broses, neu byddwch yn teimlo'n anghyfforddus gyda'ch newidiadau ac mae'n debygol na fyddwch yn gallu eu hymgorffori yn eich hunaniaeth, gan eu cael yn anodd eu gwneud a'u cadw.

It may sound fluffy, but you need to think of yourself as a person who doesn’t do X; the strength of your self-identity is extremely powerful. By following these steps, each small change gets repeated until it becomes automatic, and that is how a habit actually shifts. You begin small and work your way up to a new version of yourself. So go out and give it a whirl. Break that habit, whatever it may be: drinking fizzy drinks, watching too much TV, ducking out on work events. But above all else and on behalf of everyone everywhere, stop taking selfies in the gym mirrors.