Changing your habits is tough. Progress is rarely linear and most of us will encounter a setback at some point. Early on, we often set overly ambitious goals that we don’t fully achieve. Because goals are set with the intention if being “mastered”, failing to meet your goals is often de-motivating, and hurts our confidence and persistence.
The behavioral experiments approach is a novel way of developing healthy habits that is designed to help you create a growth mindset that focuses on learning to develop those tough-to-form healthy habits.
What are behavioral experiments?
Behavioral experiments are planned experiential activities to test the accuracy of our beliefs in real-life situations. The result? More accurate, adaptive beliefs about the behaviors you’re trying to change. They are one of the most powerful techniques available for changing your behaviors, particularly the ones you haven’t been previously successful with.
Put simply, we focus on learning rather than “cheap life hacks”. We promote a lasting growth mindset, not the black-or-white achievement associated with goals. The use of behavioral experiments in health coaching mirrors the necessary role that experiments play in other branches of science: experiments are used to gather evidence with which to test a theory.
What are the advantages of a behavioral experiment approach?
- Test and change your beliefs without ever “failing to achieve a goal”
- Develop adaptable and flexible habits that work best for you
- Get guidance on how to navigate barriers in the environment you live in
- Helps prevent negative predictions and interpretations of success
- Gain confidence to self-motivate and problem solve
What are the 4 steps in the behavioral experiments approach?
Behavioral experiments are structured activities we design with you design to test the accuracy of a particular belief. They act as “real-world tests” where beliefs are put to the challenge.
1. Hypothesis Formation: Just like in scientific experiments, a behavioral experiment starts with forming a hypothesis based on a core belief about your habits. For instance, you might believe, “There’s absolutely no time to exercise during my day.” The underlying assumption (core belief) being tested is that your day will be unproductive or completely thrown off if you take an exercise break. A health coach can help you identify the core belief.
2. Designing the Experiment: A health coach would work with you to set up personalized experiments to test this belief. In this case, the individual might decide to plan two 15-minute walks over their lunch break.
3. Gathering Evidence: During and after the experiment, you gather evidence to support or refute your core belief. Did walking for 15 minutes over lunch really ruin your workday or make you less productive?
4. Reflection: After the experiment, you and your coach would discuss the results. In many cases, individuals find that initial core beliefs are not supported by evidence. Sometimes, it’s the behavior that needs adjusting (wrong time of day, too big of a step, need extra support). You then work with your coach on forming a more balanced and accurate belief about what healthy habits look like for you.
Interested in trying something new? Try doing a behavioral experiment. I'd be happy to help!
