Harness Your Habits
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In This Issue:
Quick Takes: James Clear, author of Atomic Habits explains how to make your habits work for you.
Community Buzz: Wrapping up our 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge, your top NA drinks and news about drinking & your health. Plus, tapping into a health-forward social scene.
Member Spotlight: Sean reminds us to maintain balance, seek knowledge, and discover what we can do to be at our best.
QUICK TAKES
Takeaways from recent content we've discovered
Harness Your Habits
We talk a lot about our daily habits at Benchmark. Achieving better results usually means you need to do things differently, and do so consistently. But making even the smallest of changes to your habits day after day is very, very hard.
We just listened to Peter Attia’s interview with James Clear on The Drive podcast. Clear, who wrote the book Atomic Habits (which we highly recommend), discusses how we can harness our habits to achieve our goals, and ultimately make us proud of who we are. One month into New Year’s resolutions, it’s a good time to reflect on your own habits and consider how to make them work for you, rather than against you.
The episode delves into great detail on these topics, but here are a few of our biggest takeaways:
Goals vs. systems. Perhaps counterintuitively, Clear points out that goals are not the primary thing that drives results; after all, competitors all share the same goal of winning the race. He explains what makes the difference is in fact the system, the collection of daily habits that you follow in order to reach that goal. As Clear puts it, “fix the inputs, and the outputs will fix themselves.” Whereas the goal refers to a one-time success, the system (the methods used to achieve the goal), can ensure persistent, sustained success.
You are your habits. Clear explains that behaviors shape identity. If you begin going to the gym regularly, you start to see yourself as a “gym person.” We're inclined to avoid cognitive dissonance—discomfort when actions and values conflict—so small habits reinforce identity over time. Clear illustrates this with two people declining a cigarette: one says, “I’m trying to quit,” while the other says, “I’m not a smoker.” The latter, having embraced a new identity, is more likely to succeed.
Peer pressure is powerful. Just as the effect of self-identity can work for you or against you, so too can the influence of social norms. Humans are social; we naturally seek the approval of others, and strive to fit in with our social group. Clear suggests using this to your advantage – “join groups where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.” If you are a smoker trying to quit, surround yourself with non-smokers.
The 4 stages of a habit: cue, craving, response, reward. Understanding each stage involved in a habit can help you identify how to change it. The cue is what you notice that leads you to the habit. Clear uses the example of seeing a plate of cookies. The craving refers to how you interpret that cue, for example, anticipating the cookies sweetness, which motivates you to respond (with action or inaction), and this determines the resulting reward (or consequence).
Clear’s 4 laws of behavior change. To make habits stick, Clear says the the first rule is to “make it obvious”; identify the cues that will motivate your desired habit, and make those cues as obvious as possible (e.g., put your running shoes by your bed so you see them when you wake up). Surround yourself with the right cues that reinforce good habits. The next rule is to “make it attractive” (e.g., buy workout clothes that you love). The third is “make it easy” (e.g., join a gym next to your office). The last is “make it satisfying” (e.g., work out with a friend).
Forget failures. One of my favorite points, and one that came up often in last month’s discussion of Andy Ramage’s 28 days without alcohol, is to move past your failures and look ahead. Clear suggests containing failures to a time period. For example, a failure that happened last month should not impact how you evaluate this month. Consider what you learned from the failure, and look forward. If you miss one day, that’s ok; try not to miss two.
COMMUNITY BUZZ
Highlights from Benchmark's community forum
Dry January Roundup 💦
Our lucky winner’s Benchmark swag bag.
We’re wrapping up our 30-day NA Challenge; thanks to everyone who gave this a try! We’ve loved hearing your impressions, from what was most challenging (dinner parties!), to what you did instead of drinking (cold plunges!), to the great NA beverages you discovered.
First, let's announce the lucky winner of the Benchmark Swag Bag: Dr. Kaitlin Dupuis* (of previous Member Spotlight fame).
*based on random draw, not because her name is Dr. Kaitlin ; )
Here are a few of the NA selections members shared this month:
Ray and Lori, featured in last month’s Spotlight, have curated a list of their top NA wine, beer, and wine alternatives. Having owned a wine store for many years, they have discerning palates and have done their research. Topping their list for wine alternatives (grapes + other ingredients) is PROXIES, made in Canada. Their top pick for NA beer is Partake (CAN / US), also Canadian, and they enjoy Athletic Brewing’s NA beers as well.
Mary recommended Bellwoods Brewery's Jelly King raspberry & blackberry sour for something fruity.
Several members have pointed us to Collective Arts, a Canadian company that features the designs of emerging artists on their cans, and offers a solid selection of NA beers and mocktails.
Alcohol in the News 🗞️
We sent NA Challenge participants a couple of recent stories about alcohol and your health. One was the U.S. Surgeon General’s new advisory about the link between alcohol and cancer. It cited “alcohol use as a leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States,” yet less than half of Americans are aware of this association.
A recent New York Times article titled “Alcohol Carries New Risks in Middle Age,” cited research on drinking trends from 2018 to 2022. The study found the sharpest rise in drinking among those in their 40s, no doubt influenced by the pandemic. It will come as no surprise that drinking in midlife has a more noticeable impact, as the body processes alcohol less efficiently. This exacerbates its health consequences, including higher blood pressure and heightened risk of diabetes. The good news is that scaling back your drinking can reverse some of this damage, and lower the risk of alcohol-related conditions.
Healthy Social Scene ☕️
AI generated image of “people socializing.”
We’ve been reflecting on the central role that alcohol plays in our social lives. When I asked chatGPT to “create an image of people socializing,” I got the picture below. Notice nearly everyone pictured is drinking.
What might socializing look like without alcohol? If you have the chance to attend a Daybreaker concert, you’ll get a taste of it and I highly recommend taking part. Picture a massive dance party, but at 7AM without alcohol. I’ve never started a workday more energized.
Health-focused social scenes can also be a welcome escape from this winter’s polar vortex. Kaitlin loved her Othership experience in Toronto, which offers “otherworldly” sauna (and ice bath) experiences, including an “evening social” option to sauna with friends. I loved my recent float / ice bath / hot tub circuit at AIRE Ancient Baths in Chicago, and have heard good things about New York’s Bathhouse. With young people drinking less, more of us prioritizing our health, and everyone eager for social connection after years of pandemic, we’re hoping this urban bathhouse trend continues!
MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS
Featured members and their health journeys
Sean stars in our Member Spotlight.
Sean Fast
Sean defines wellness broadly, considering not only exercise and nutrition, but also social, spiritual, intellectual, and financial wellness. He wanted to learn what he could do to perform at his best day to day. He says, "the more information we have about our bodies, the more we can take care of ourselves…read on.
NOTE: This newsletter is informational only; it is not medical advice.
We have no stake in the products or brands we highlight here.
