How I Started to Build New Habits using 4 Basic Dog Training Principles?

Some people come with an amazing amount of will power and discipline. They do not seem to have any trouble following a rigorous routine to build new habits. Others, like myself, need a lot more motivation and perseverance to stick to new changes.

I have been suffering with severe neck pain which radiates into the head and causes severe nausea for the past 3-4 years. It started during the lockdown when I would spend hours hunching over my laptop. Neck and shoulder exercises look to be the obvious solution.

However, over the years instead of healing myself, I had convinced myself that exercise can not heal the pain and I had prepared myself for perpetual pain. Finally last November due to some twist of fate, I realized my own lack of awareness was the hindrance. What I really needed was to take charge of my health and direct my action towards it.

Now, that first step was clear, the next hurdle was how to build the habit of exercising and stick to it consistently. In the past, I have often exercised enthusiastically for a few days and discontinued and doing the same would not have helped me. I needed to look at building the new habit from a different approach, something which sticks and adapts as part of my lifestyle.

It’s the realization that taking the same approach you have been following for years will NOT work; that realization sparks the CHANGE.

And, this is where I decided to draw inspiration from my dog. Now, you would ask how did my dog help me out?

Oh, dogs change your life. The good thing of having a dog is you start perceiving everything differently. A basic part of having a dog is teaching them how to behave and teaching a dog any behavior requires a lot of patience, consistency and repetition along with starting really small and building new habits or behavior step by step everyday. And, that’s what I did.

How did Dog Training Principles help in Building New Habits?

Dog Training Principle #1 – Work on a Single Command at a time

When I started training Sky, I started with sit. Teaching sit, down, paw, shake hand, everything together just ends up confusing her.

Similarly, I had a list of activities I wanted to introduce into my daily routine. Since I am using the new mindset and approach, I picked up one single habit out of the list and started working on it.

In my case, I wanted to start exercising and waking up early. However, following this approach, I could only pick one habit so I picked up exercising since it was easier for me as opposed to waking up early.

If we make too many changes at the same time and that shocks our system and overwhelms us because any change consumes energy from both body and brain. Too many changes would end up consuming too much energy and you will not be left with any to continue. This leads to burnout and quitting the new habit.

An easier way to manage this issue is to pick one behavior at a time and working towards it. To start with, picking an easy behavior and doing it successfully builds confidence.

So, our Step 1 : While you are starting out with building a new habit, Start with ONLY one behavior at a time.

Dog Training Principle #2 – Train for a very Short Period

Dogs have really short attentions spans and anything new takes a lot of their brain power. When I would teach Sky something, I would take it really slow so for anything new, just 10 reps max are advised.

Kaizen Principle also recommends to do a task for ONE MINUTE every single day to build it up into your life.

Following up on the same principle, I started exercise for ONLY one minute every single day.

We often make the mistake of taking up a new activity with too much enthusiasm, end up giving it too much energy and overdoing it initially leading to early burnouts. Instead, go slow, be intentional and build the habit incrementally to ensure consistency and avoid burn out.

So, our Step 2 : When starting out with building a new behavior, dedicate only ONE MINUTE to the behavior every single day.

Dog Training Principle #3 – Teach Foundations First

You can not teach a dog to spin in one go. Fist you have teach them how to turn. That’s what I did with Sky.

Similarly, to build a new habit, you should break up the habit into smaller and more manageable chunks. And, start working on the first step.

This is something I read long back and it really stuck with me. If you want to make a habit to cook, start with putting the pan on the gas. Do not start cooking the first day.

To build up my habit of exercising consistently, I started only with neck rotations for one minute everyday. I made sure that what I was doing was not too different from what I would have done earlier so it would not consume too much of my energy.

The idea is to get you started with getting used to doing these activities more for muscle memory than actually doing the task.

So, our Step 3 : When starting out with building a new habit, Start with Basic Steps for ONLY ONE MINUTE every single day.

Dog Training Principle #4 – Be Consistent and Track your Progress

You have to repeat the behavior 8000 times for a dog to nail it down on an automated mode!! Practice, Practice, Practice. I think even today we have not achieved 8000 reps for Spin.

The more you do a behavior, the better it gets wired in the brain and gradually over a certain number of repetitions, it gets automated in you. Consistency is really the key to success.

I started with exercising every single day for only one minute. I started with neck rotations and made sure not to skip the routine any day no matter what happens.

So, our Step 4 : When you start to build a new habit, Start with Basic Steps for one minute every single day every single day. Do the Same Steps Every Single Day until you do not have to think of the behavior in a conscious manner.

To track your progress, create vision board. You can choose to do it for one day at a time or for 4 days or for one week. Do not go beyond one week. Make a cross every single day you perform the behavior. A visual quantification of your efforts gives you a clear picture of how you are doing.

Dog Training Principle #5 – Take a Step Back When Required

When I started teaching Place to Sky (which is essentially going to her mat), sometimes she would nail it and sometimes she would not be very clear with the ask. This is when I realized I went too fast and would take a step back.

We are humans and there are multiple factors governing our behaviors in a single day. Considering every single situation, the ONLY thing required from you is to show up. When I started building the habit of exercise, there would be days when I would physically and mentally resist the activity. In those days, I just went back to how I started on day 1. That is why Step 3 is really important.

You should be able to break down the new habit into a chunk which is doable even on the worst days. And, always remember, your best days are not when you make progress. You make progress on your worst days when you decide to show up instead of quitting. This is not easy but it can be done with practice.

Right now, this is week 1 of starting to build the new habit. You may realize that you have not broken your activity into smaller chunks and you can go back and do so. The only thing you should not do is skip the activity. However, should that happen, be kind to yourself and start again. Follow the same steps.

So, our Step 5 : On your worst days, do the basic steps for one minute. If you can not, skip for the day. Be kind to yourself and start again the next day.

Summarizing the Framework

• Step 1 : While you are starting out with building a new habit, Start with ONLY one behavior at a time.

• Step 2 : When starting out with building a new behavior, dedicate only ONE MINUTE to the behavior every single day.

• Step 3 : When starting out with building a new habit, Start with Basic Steps for ONLY ONE MINUTE every single day.

• Step 4 : When you start to build a new habit, Start with Basic Steps for one minute every single day every single day. Do the Same Steps Every Single Day until you do not have to think of the behavior in a conscious manner.

• Step 5 : On your worst days, do the basic steps for one minute. If you can not, skip for the day. Be kind to yourself and start again the next day.

How long have I followed this framework?

I am very thankful that you are still reading this. It also shows me you really want to make the change.

I adopted this framework sometime in December and we are in March now. Over the last few years, I had reached a stage where even brushing my teeth was difficult for me. And, considering from that situation, I am today a functioning adult who has managed to adopt 5 new habits and behaviors every single day along with my personal care, my office and exercise (right now I am doing 2 blocks of 5 minutes each).

It is not much but I am taking things at my own pace. And, I need to consider the entire pool of energy available to me and how I can distribute it among all activities in the day.

It was not easy to have reached this stage. I did slip up many times but the beauty of this framework is that it allows elasticity for your present conditions. You decide every single factor in this framework. And, you are allowed to skip. The only thing required is to start again and do it in extremely incremental steps.

Eventually, you do reach a stage where you will not skip and show up for yourself. And, then it will be a day where you do the task even without thinking.

I have not adopted this framework from any book. As I mentioned, an inspiration stuck me one day to show myself the same kindness I show to Sky. And, voila, we are here.

In fact, following this framework, I have finally finished reading The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma. As I kept reading, I realized there are so many similar principles which have been explained in the book. I kept modifying my tasks and schedule according to the new things I learned but I am surprised and really happy to say that I did not have to modify anything in the framework.

This post you are reading is also thanks to the framework. I will keep sharing my experiences as I go forward in my journey. Currently, I am working towards getting up at 5AM and writing every single day and doing fairly well.

What I have described today is just the first step. I will do subsequent posts on how to use it and modify it as you advance in your routine. I really hope you use this framework in your life and experience the change for yourself. Till next time, Swathy.