Welcome to Clarity Conversations, our new vlog focusing on providing clarity for leaders. Every month we will examine how brain science affects our effectiveness as leaders. We will be providing brain based insights and solutions - brain hacks - for the common challenges we face as a leaders.

This month, we welcome Dr. Jeff Snell who is the Director of Psychology and Neuropsychology Services at QLI. With the new year ramping up, we discuss the brain science of habits. We will take a deeper look at how habits are formed, why can habits be so challenging to commit to, and what are some tools we can use to increase our effectiveness.

Come join the conversation. How can you be a part of the small percentage of people getting their habits to "stick"?

Activation Triggers, Decision Distress, and Habit Resilience

If you're like me at all, you want to end up with the 11%.  I want to be with the 11% who follow through with all or most of the commitments we make at the beginning of the year – personally and professionally.

Each year my husband, Mike, and I invest a few days completing Michael Hyatt's Best Year Ever course to:

• Conduct an After Action Review on the previous year
• Establish goals for the new year

Mike and I are together A LOT! We lead both YourExecutiveCoach.com and Emsick Architects, a commercial design studio with a niche in the auto dealership industry.  And corny as it sounds, since we began an annual planning process, we've consistently been able to celebrate the habits we've developed and stretch goals we accomplished.  As each year passes, we are measurably healthier, our businesses are measurably more successful, and our relationship is more and more aligned. We can honestly say, it keeps...

Since the wheels of 2022 lifted off from the runway, I've been laser focused on restoring pre-COVID habits. Perhaps you can relate. There are good habits to resume (like my A-Game Rhythm, or consistently engaging in our team collaboration platform). And, there are good habits to begin, like writing these new, weekly, 5-minute Clarity Sparks.  Or, there can be bad habits to break. Today, we’re focusing on the power of re-engaging good habits.  

Re-engaging my A-Game

Our brains thrive on routine, which is why (re)engaging a habit can actually gain more early traction than starting a new habit.

Why: because we’ve done it before and our brains hold onto the wiring, even though we stopped. 

For instance, over the past five or so years, I came to the realization that my best days begin when I'm on the elliptical by 5:15 in the morning. When I'm on the elliptical by 5:15am, all sorts of other really powerful and productive little things fall into...