Something really interesting happened to me recently.
I turned vegetarian.
That’s not so interesting by itself. What IS interesting is HOW that happened – completely effortlessly! Turning vegetarian took me about as much willpower as it takes you to brush off a speck of dust that landed on your shoulder.
It was completely different from other major habit changes I did in the past. When I tried waking up early, or jogging every morning, or meditating for 10 minutes a day, it took me gargantuan effort and all kinds of hacks to keep those habits. I fiddled around with pain and pleasure associations (though I didn’t know it at the time), I set myself reminders, I tried conditioning my body for automatic responses and much more.
And yet turning vegetarian was completely effortless for me. Why? I don’t really know. But I’m going to throw out some ideas here, and maybe I’ll make you think of times in the past when YOU effortlessly changed a habit. And together we can figure out what exactly makes some habit changes effortless, while others are as hard as hell!
So why was the switch effortless?
1. I never liked meat that much anyway
Even as a small kid, I only saw meat as a nuisance I had to get through to enjoy the tasty side dish. That hasn’t changed much over the years. I had got to the point where I didn’t mind meat, and some of it was actually quite nice (like chicken). But mostly I liked meat only because of all the herbs and spices we tend to throw on it. And we can simply throw those on any other dish we choose.
2. I was REPLACING a habit
I haven’t actually created a new habit. I simply substituted vegetarian meals for meat-filled meals. That’s quite different from, say, getting up an hour earlier in the morning and going jogging.
3. I switched gradually
Instead of deciding one day “There, I’m not going to eat any meat for the next thirty days!”, I simply started replacing meals gradually. Instead of making myself ham and cheese sandwiches, I made myself cheese sandwiches. Instead of buying beef cornish pasties, I started buying vegetable cornish pasties. And so on. I only replaced non-vegetarian meals when I thought of a convenient alternative. In fact, the only thing I really had to give up were some take-aways (which doesn’t bother me that much). I now realize how amazingly much meat there is in your usual take-aways!
Well, those are the basic reasons I can think of. Have you ever made a big habit change completely effortlessly? If yes, please share your experiences in the comments!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
11 years ago, my partner of the time went to a Tony Robbins seminar, paid for by her boss. I stayed with her in the hotel over the weekend it was on. She did tell me about what she was doing, but she certainly wasn´t mind blowingly changed by it.
The thing that changed MY life, was that she related the story about Uric acid in red meat. She didn´t tell me to change my mind, it was just to relate the story.
Something in me clicked and I simply haven´t eaten red meat since. I´ve no desire to eat it, I simply stopped on that day with no effort, and I´ve never eaten it again. I had what you would call a normal diet prior to that date.
It? happened to me again over this Christmas period. My wife and I visit a tea store where the girl that always served us would remember every single purchase that we had ever made, she could remember about 15 teas that we´d bought over the last 3 months! it was incredible. Well, shortly after Christmas, we went in to get another tea to try, and she got it all wrong!!! forgot some stuff that she had totally owned before Christmas, I asked her about it and she said it was probably all the alcohol she´d drunk. I haven´touched a drink since. Once again, I have no desire to drink anymore. In honesty, it has only been a month or so, but I have this same sneaking suspicion that the feeling is the same and that it will be a permanent change. (My drinking habits before were to have probably about 6 to 10 drinks a week)
I´m sure that there is a mechanism within us for changing habits, I would really love to understand the trigger, life would be amazing. Neither time was particularly eventful or stressful. Neither time was any influence attempted. It was simply like flicking a switch.
I’ve also had an effortless change to becoming a vegetarian, a few months back. It was easy for me because:
I never liked meat myself, except for sausages and mince pies.
I don’t have to cook my meals; my Mum does. And she enjoys having a reason to cook vegetarian!
I watched a documentary on how animals are turned into meat. It wasn’t too graphic, but it was enough!
Now I try to avoid eating any meat, or any product with meat extracts in it. The last part causing the most grief from changing!
@Glenn:
Yeah, that sounds exactly like what I experienced! No strong emotions, but I simply don’t feel like eating meat anymore. In fact, I find the idea slightly repulsive. Thanks for sharing!
@Jojo:
. I cook my own meals… and since I turned vegetarian, I’ve been a bit short on ideas. But I’m going to a vegetarian food fest this evening, so hopefully I’ll pick up some ideas on what to cook!
Ah, lucky you, having a personal cook
Also, I never actually read or watched a documentary about how animals are turned into meat, but I’ve heard from several people who have. They’re all vegetarians.
I find trivializing a habit change makes it easy. As long as you realize how little you’re affected by what you eat, and you don’t obsess about the change, it’s not so hard to say “From today on, I won’t eat beef or pork” and STOP THINKING. Don’t run yourself through the actions, go do something else and just ignore the ‘beef’ and ‘pork’ choices whenever they are presented.
The only problem with this method is that as soon as you start to doubt your motivations for doing such a thing, you quickly regress. I stopped eating beef and pork for 3 months this way, but then suddenly decided to start eating them again when I couldn’t find anything good on a menu…
Well, Vlad, congratulations for your change, but just do not take it too long. According to my friend, who is a very good doctor, animal protein is what allowed man to turn into the thinking animal it is today (with all the exceptions, of course).
For that same reason, parents must never force their children to become vegetarians. Even human breast milk is animal protein, do not forget it; and those babies who don’t receive it never develop their brains in full.
I know next comments might be against me for saying this, but you can ask a nutritionist of you want. I am sharing and just giving a friendly warning.
@Tedel:
There’s a big difference between being a vegetarian and being a vegan. As a vegetarian, I still consume plenty of animal products (cheese, butter, milk…), so I’m not in any danger.
Vegans (people who don’t eat any animal products whatsoever) need to be more careful. The problem isn’t so much getting protein – it’s getting some of the essential amino acids. We humans only need them in small quantities, so our bodies can’t manufacture them. We get them from eating animals that CAN manufacture them. Without those amino acids, we can get, as you say, brain damage and other big problems. So vegans need to watch their diet carefully and eat some exotic plants to get the right amino acids.
But as long as I’m just a vegetarian, not a full-blown vegan, I don’t need to worry about my diet much apart from basic listening to my body.
Whether a habit will be effortless or painful will be determined by pros/cons in the short run (I think at least). If you can’t make a good habit, the cons are filling too much – for instance with smoking; if you love the feeling you get by smoking, it does not matter that much (for some) that you’ll be dead in 50 years or so… Even though it is healthy in the long run (like running), we will mostly think “short run”…