This Simple Tool Can Make Habit Change More Successful

My counseling and therapy clients have heard me say this over and over. "Keep a written record when you are trying to change your habit and you will be much more successful". I urge clients to keep records when changing all sorts of inner and outer habits. It's very clear to me that those in my clinical practice who track their habits by recording them in writing tend to have much better therapy outcomes then those who don't. This technique benefits clients who are habitually angry, anxious, worried, depressed, as well as clients who struggle with so called "bad habits" like drinking, smoking, overspending etc.

For example, in my groups we use "anger diaries" as one of our main tools for doing what I call "breaking the anger habit. I have designed these diaries to collect certain pieces of information that are very helpful to track when you are changing chronic irritability, frustration and anger. These diaries help to systematically build awareness. This is important because it is our brain's tendency to go on "auto" that keeps any habit in place.

For example, you may have seen in this weeks news the coverage about dieting, weight loss and recording food intake. If not, here is a link