Flex_ Do Something Different - Ben [38]
6 Underestimating the power of triggers DSD tackles all the small daily habits that trigger unwanted behaviour.
7 Believing that information leads to action DSD does not rely on informing, educating or incentivising.
8 Focusing on abstract goals more than concrete behaviours Concrete behaviours are the stock-in-trade of DSD.
9 Seeking at the outset to change the behaviour forever DSD starts by encouraging small changes in the person. These small steps reward the person so they want to take bigger ones.
10 Believing that behaviour change is always difficult Behaviour change can be easy with DSD.
40. What does a Do Something Different intervention look like?
We know that when people keep doing the same things it can make life at best boring and at worst troublesome. But habits also narrow our view. They blind us to the many other options that are available to us. Therefore a Do Something Different programme simply suggests different things to do each day. These switch off the person’s autopilot and put them back in the driving seat of life. By making small daily disruptions to their everyday life they start to steer it down a different track. There’s no struggle, no gritted teeth to maintain willpower – just a gradual loosening of the habit-web that had a stranglehold on the person.
In this way Do Something Different circumvents people’s natural resistance to change. It chips away at their inertia. It can be integrated into their daily routine and most importantly it doesn’t require willpower because the changes are small.
When a person starts to Do Something Different they:
expand their world
break free of the comfort zone
shake off the habits that held them back
look at things differently
open up to new possibilities
see themselves in a new light
allow new opportunities into their life and
have different reflections about themselves.
Our programmes contain a number of specially selected DSDs. Often they are designed with a special life-goal or transformation in mind. But they all tend to fall into the following categories:
Disruptors
These break habit chains. They disrupt automatic unthinking patterns of behaviour that cause people to do things without thinking or intending to.
Expanders
These enlarge people’s behavioural repertoire, expand existing thinking and behavioural patterns, and bring about new reflections.
View-changers
These shift the way people view themselves and their lives, giving a different perspective and helping them see things in a non-habitual way.
You may have already tried some of the DSDs in this book. Have a look below at some of the daily DSDs from Do Something Different: The Journal. A lot of people use them as reminders of how life can be shaken up and stirred for the better!
Remember that these are not big, demanding life-changes – they only have to be tried for one single day. But each one can lead to long-term changes, as small disruptions can cause big differences. And the cumulative effect of doing them all over time can lead to huge personal change and transformation. Here are a few examples, and a brief explanation of why they work:
SHIFT YOUR BUTT DAY: Today, don’t sit anywhere that you would normally sit. That’s at the dining table, at work, watching TV or in a meeting. Triggers for unwanted behaviour often exist in our daily routines and the environment around us. Literally changing where we sit can mean we are not triggered to do what we would normally do in that place.
LET GO OF TIME DAY: Don’t use a watch or a clock today. See how good you are at time-keeping or just relax and try not letting time run your life. Letting go of external props that ‘run’ our life can give us a different perspective on it and put us back in control.
BREAK RANKS DAY: Swap a job/chore with your partner or friend today. Get some insight into their life by doing something they do. Relationship habits get entrenched and cause problems when people cannot take the other’s perspective.
LONG TIME NO SEE DAY: Rekindle an old friendship