You Can't Break an Old Habit

A thin wisp of smoke rose up from the firepit in our backyard this morning. I was surprised and amazed, as we had last enjoyed a bonfire and marshmallows two nights ago. That evening, we had poured water and turned the coals several times to put out the fire. Not only that, it had also rained for much of the following day. Yet, here was the smoke. Despite our thorough efforts, and nature's help, there was still enough heat in the embers two days later to rekindle the fire.

The same thing happens when we try to break an old habit - it just doesn't work. The old habit is deeply embedded, and keeps smouldering, ready to resurface at the slightest opportunity. Remember going to a conference and getting all charged up about some exciting new idea? You come back ready to change the world, or at least your business. You excitedly put it to the test, and things look great for a day, a week, a month, but at the first sign of crisis, everything reverts to the old ways of thinking and doing.

In casual conversation, we often talk about trying to "break a habit" or "kick a bad habit", but it's more helpful to think in terms of "extinguishing old habits" instead. In Creating a Lean Culture, David Mann says that "Extinguish implies a process, something that occurs gradually over time rather than an event producing a suddenly changed state. Because of that, extinguish also implies a change that [might] be reversed under certain conditions." In your business or your life, you may think that you've successfully changed how you do things, but then find one day that you've somehow reverted to your old fire-fighting habits.

When setting out to change, you will slip back and fall into your old ways. Expect this. When you douse the old fires, don't be surprised if they start up again. Just douse them again and recommit yourself to the change. And when the old habits start smoking again, douse them one more time. Expect this; expect it repeatedly.

Persistence, determination and hard work will get you through. Paraphrasing the Man's Prayer from The Red Green Show, "I'm a [manager], but I can change, if I have to, I guess."