Belief

Often times, #replacing existing habits with an alternative routine isn’t enough to permanently change your behavior. As proven countless of times, under duress, we are likely to relapse to our old habits and all our progressive efforts to change will all be for nothing.

Researchers have found that changing one’s habit is just half the battle, believing is the other. One reasons why AA meetings are so effective is that it harbors a community of believers who have somehow been in similar situation as the ones within their group. A person named John from the book, The Power of Habit, an alcoholic who was sober for two years after he got in a car accident that led to a broken arm of his son, relapsed after founding out that his mom got cancer. He then went back to his old drinking habits and found new destructive ones, such as cocaine. He was an atheist and was always skeptical whenever a fellow addict mentions God as their savior. Likewise, researchers hated an untestable hypothesis for the belief of a non-existent God. Rather, they found that believing in something, especially in groups, increases the chances to solidify habitual change, permanently. “If it can work for that guy, I guess it can work for me too”¹.

Another example. NFL Head coach of Colts, Tony Dungy, who used to coach Tampa Bay Buccaneers, trained Colts’ players with the same approach he employed in his previous team. To rewire their habits and drill fundamentals into them until it becomes automatic reaction. He believes that it is not necessary to have the thickest playbook to win the Super Bowl, rather, to eliminate hesitations in crucial times and to quickly react in such moments as if they are born to do so. The Colts’ had won consecutively, their best record yet, proving the skills of Dungy as a coach and his methods. However, whenever Colts are up against a huge hurdle they never before overcome, their play crumbles, always resulting to a devastating game. They over think and hesitate, too a slow to make decisions as if they suddenly forgot all their training.

Why do we relapse or crumble at the face of adversity, after what all we’ve accomplished so far in changing our habits? Why do alcoholics, who’s been sober for years go back to drinking after a hearing a devastating news, or choke every time you fought your greatest hurdles? Old habits are never forgotten, but can be overridden with a new routine. But all of that can be reinforced with a belief system. Belief that everything will be alright in the end and belief in the process you are in. And that belief comes organically in a community of people who believe in the cause and a successful outcome as you are.

John, from the first example, after getting divorced and almost killing himself and arrested for DUI, attends AA meetings and is now sober for more than 7 years at the time. Coach Dungy lost his son Jamie after committing suicide recovered from the traumatic tragedy with his team that lit a fire in their hearts to believe in their coach and in the system. They won against the divisional title holders, Patriots, and won the Super Bowl in 2007.