Using Habit as the Foundation for a New One: a Solid Way to Build Good Habits

“The kind of life we lead today is essentially the product of our habits - our daily routines, our daily processes.”— Jim Berry  

Some years back, after reading a little about habit stacking, I decided to put it into practice to ascertain its effectiveness. And now, I can confirm that it works—fantastically. 

So to begin afresh for you, let’s start with the meaning of a key word, “stack” on the concept of habit stacking. The dictionary defines it as: “a pile of things more or less neatly arranged one on top of another.” And the last part of that definition about orderly arrangement is what I want to emphasize for the purpose of this article. 

Therefore, habit stacking is about using an old habit as a foundation to build new ones; a thoughtful arrangement and association of new behaviours with an old habit. It is about creating a new, good habit with the aid of an already established one. 

In other words, you are using what you are already good at, as the basis for getting good at something new. For example, if you eat three times a day, as a matter of habit. Then you can attach a new, good behaviour of thanksgiving to God for His provisions for you after each meal.

Without this conscious plan of habit stacking, you may say you want to give thanks every day but never actually do, due to many reasons and excuses like forgetfulness or negligence. Stacking is how you make it a lifelong practice. 

However, you still need to be focused enough to make the new addition into a solid habit, especially, during the first 30 days as S. J. Scott states in his book, ‘Resolutions that Stick.’ He writes: "If you want to establish a new habit, you must focus on it until it has become a permanent part of your daily routine." 

To implement Scott’s counsel, ensure you perform the new behaviour, right after the old one, every time. Use the following formula as a daily reminder to always keep yourself on the right track in the field of habit stacking: ‘the same thing, the same sequence, every single time.’

Other factors that you need to consider to make the most of this practice are: one, it should be a meaningful behaviour that adds real value to you; and two, it should fit very well into your life. 

The fitting element is the crucial factor of success in habit stacking. This is because by placing the new behaviour in an appropriate place in your routine and lifestyle, you give yourself the best chance of making it stick with a minimal amount of effort. 

Joining behaviours together through stacking is a great way of making positive changes happen because as we perform them in concert on daily basis, we easily create a new synergized pattern for a better life, going forward. 

Kellie Sullivan writes in his book, ‘Habits: 5O Best Habits To Create A Successful Life,’ as follows: “Good habits can be developed through repetition. By incorporating behaviors, task and attitude to the regular routines, they usually become a habit, thus becoming natural and virtually effortless.”

So to become a stronger person without much strain, simply think of a useful seed of behaviour that you can incorporate into your life today, then plant it on the fertile soil of a firmly establish habit in your day. 

I dare you to try this within the next 30 days to attest the awesome power of habit stacking for yourself.