Breaking bad habits

Breaking bad habits

1. ‹#›
THE TOP 4 EXPECTATIONS OF A TEAM LEADER
BREAKING BAD HABITS

2. ‹#›
Main topics of
interest

Define the habit and triggers
Set short and long term goals
Do not be critical of yourself
1
2
5
Get support3
Accept plateaus 4

3. ‹#›
Module
requirements
To understand the different steps on how to
break the routine of bad habits in your daily life
as a family member, friend, student, coach,
player, teacher and teammate.
Good habits lead to good behavior and bad habits lead
to bad behavior. It is important for leaders to identify the
habits that lead to undesirable individual and group
behavior.
Review the following curriculum with a group or by
yourself and reflect on what you as leader can do to
change habits and promote the behaviors and habits that
lead to success.
Purpose
Instructions

4. Define the habit1
Identify and define the habit that needs to be changed.

5. Make a full commitment2
A behavior will not change unless the guilty party wants to change.
The desire for change must come from within one’s self, or within the
team. There are fewer stronger bonds than those among team
members. Help one another become committed to changing a habit
and the power of synergy will make it happen.

6. Set short and long term goals3
Establish attainable goals to provide visible and tangible proof that
behaviors are changing.
If rampant negativity or an offense/ defense rivalry is a bad habit,
excessively celebrate when teammates are positive with one another.
Habits develop over time, similarly then, patience is required because
breaking a bad habit can take equally as long.

7. Achievers keep expectations realistic4
For a nicotine addict, a meal is the “trigger” that leads to the bad
habit. In order to stop the habit, the user may need to identify and
eliminate the trigger.
Perhaps the trigger for team in-fighting could be the “chirping” that
goes on between players in a certain drill or phase of practice; well…
perhaps eliminating the drill for a short time may help break the habit
of infighting caused when players put each other down.

8. Get support for breaking the habit5
The strong bond of a team is many times as much support that is
necessary.
Coaches, teachers, family members and others can be asked to guide
and support the challenge of overcoming a bad habit.

9. Accept plateaus6
There may be times when achieving a goal is difficult to see and there
will be days and weeks where it’s hard to see progress.
This issue is very similar to strength training. At the beginning, you
see fast and extreme improvements in strength that lead to weeks
where there are not many gains, or where an individual meets a
plateau. Accept these plateaus and keep fighting to achieve goals…
Do not expect the habit change process to be an easy one.

10. Achievers bounce back7
Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.
If every team member believes in himself, the group will continue in a
positive direction. There is no substitute for positive enthusiasm in
helping one another through the habit breaking cycle.