When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take it

There’s a technique I learned when studying hypnosis called “macro sequence intervention.” The gist of it is that you have habits of behavior that you can change by becoming aware of what choices you make when you reach a decision point. A habit like hanging up your coat is triggered by walking in the door and taking your coat off. If you are a person who instead, tosses your coat on a chair you might have what's called a problem sequence.

So let’s say you want to change the problem sequence of walking in the door, taking off your coat and tossing it on the chair to the more responsible habit of walking in the door, taking off your coat, going to the closet and putting your coat on a hanger.

There’s a decision point that occurs as you take off your coat. Generally, you wouldn’t be conscious of making the decision to toss rather than hang. The change requires resolving to make a change, committing to that resolution, and then determining what resources you will need when you reach the decision point to achieve the new outcome.

Maybe it’s a little note stuck to the door, or reminding yourself that it only takes 17 seconds to hang up your coat, or imagining how nice your place looks without clothing strewn around.

Try a little mental rehearsal. Imagine a specific event when you did something successfully and it was really easy. Recall how you felt. Now from that feeling space, imagine walking in the door, taking off your coat, going to the closet, hanging your coat, and having it be EASY. By doing this you are creating a mindset that will help you make the new choice.

Of course developing a new habit takes time and practice. It's okay to slip as long as you don't use that as an excuse to give up. Sometimes it helps to track your progress. Some of my more successful clients tack up calendar with a few new habits they're working on that month. Each time the new behavior is accomplished they get a check (or a star if you prefer). The feedback seems to help.

It’s all about making the right choice, in the right way at the right time.