I want to make a big change in my life.
It sounds like a minor issue, but I’ve been reading A LOT of sports on my cellphone lately—often in the bathroom or at my desk, or on the couch. It’s how I decompress after stress, or just get a small dopamine shot when I’m bored.
Like many habit changes, it takes several nudges from the universe for you to finally act.
I wrote this a few weeks ago, when I was desperately waiting for my beloved Chicago Cubs to sign a free agent. Day after day I googled “Cubs news,” hoping there would be something to get excited about. But nothing interesting came.
First Nudge
I could see that this habit was biting into my productivity and focus, so I consulted with ChatGPT (AKA my second life coach). It suggested connecting productive actions to my sports reading. Whenever I want to check sports, I could do something constructive first—work toward goals or knock out tasks. Genius idea, but I let it percolate for days without trying it.
Second Nudge
I was thinking about doing an exercise where for a week I would do something uncomfortable every day. I’ve done this kind of thing before and it’s quite satisfying. It helps to only commit to a short period of time. Hard stuff comes along and I just lean into it. I might start an awkward conversation with somebody or make a serendipity video for my new YouTube channel. The point is NOT to hesitate. Just do it! And I thought, this quest to control my sports news abuse would be a perfect obstacle to lean into.
Third Nudge
The next morning, I was listening to the self-help masterpiece Atomic Habits during my workout (my annual January ritual). The book’s author, James Clear, discusses a concept called habit stacking, which is exactly what ChatGPT and I had previously discussed as far as my sports reading addiction. You connect one new positive habit to another already established habit.
Everything seemed to be coming together. I filmed a serendipity video about my goal. I had some awkward conversations, and I tackled some un-fun stuff on my to-do list I had long neglected.
But then I immediately read sports multiple times without stacking any productive habits. Maybe it was because I felt like relaxing after all the other hard stuff I had done.
In any case, I’m still working on my sports reading consumption. The Cubs finally did make some interesting moves—a trade for a stud pitcher, signed a $35 million a year third baseman. But I’m still thirsty for more sports updates containing information that will likely not improve my life. Or, maybe they will, because keeping track of Cubs news is fun and it’s fun to talk about, more fun than most yucky world news.
But I digress.
I think I’m making some progress. Maybe in the end, my success will depend on how badly I want this behavior change.
Do I need another nudge? Will publishing this blog be one?
Question: What habits would you like to change (or start) in 2026?
