How to cook a frog sucessfully

Trying to change a habit is a daring attempt. It often fails due to the hidden blocks. We need appropriate strategies to succeed.  The frog story explains one such approach.

A person wanted to cook a frog for a meal. He dropped it into a pot of boiling water. The frog felt the sudden shock of heat, panicked, and jumped out of sight before he could do anything. 

He thought for a while and got a brilliant idea. He put the second frog in a pot of cold tap water. It was swimming happily. He then placed the pan over the stove and turned on the lowest flame. The water warmed up slowly. The frog did not feel any threat, just a pleasant warmth. Its metabolism was adjusting to the warmth. He continued increasing the temperature a little at a time. The frog didn't panic. 

After a long time, the temperature crossed the upper limit for the metabolism of the frog to function. Its heart stopped functioning. It died without realizing what was going on. 

The person enjoyed the meal with the nicely cooked frog. 

Of course, a story!

Reflections

Our current set of habits is like that frog. Our attempt to change them is like cooking the frog. If our current habits sense our attempt to change them, they will dodge the change by creating some smart and valid excuses against the change. So, we don't attempt any major changes. We don't obsess about practicing the small changes in a regular manner.  

Our strategy should be like that of the clever person in the story.

We introduce small changes and practice them casually without feeling stressed. We gradually increase the frequency of practice. They will be integrated with our established habits. They will happen without our thinking about them.  

Related pages

'Improving self' (My articles)