One way to change an old habit

How to take a new approach without overthinking things

We fall into certain habits without thinking about it. Maybe John on your team always leads the presentations because, well, he always does. Maybe you find yourself sitting in a certain way on your desk chair because that feels most natural, even though you suspect it’s leading to some weird aches and pains.

In Scott H. Young’s book, Get Better at Anything, he notes that “Old habits of thinking can exert a gravity on your performance. You fall back into routines, even if you’re trying to do something original.” You can try to change that, but the problem is that if you focus too much on what you’re doing wrong, you can become so self-conscious that it’s hard to do anything right.

So what’s a better approach?