In my new (bestselling) book, Better Than Before, I identify the twenty-one strategies of habit-formation, and one is the Strategy of Loophole-Spotting.
I’m doing a video series in which I discuss the ten categories of loopholes. I love studying loopholes, because they’re so funny. And ingenious! We’re such great advocates for ourselves — in any situation, we can always think of some loophole to invoke.
Well, what is a “loophole?” When we try to form and keep habits, we often search for loopholes, for justifications that will excuse us from keeping this particular habit in this particular situation. However, if we catch ourselves in the act of loophole-seeking, we can perhaps reject them.
In Better Than Before, I describe all ten categories of loopholes; in this video series. I’ll describe them, one by one.
First of ten loopholes: the Tomorrow Loophole. Boy, this is a favorite. It always works, because, as Little Orphan Annie reminds us, “tomorrow is always a day away.”
This loophole depends on “tomorrow logic.” Now doesn’t matter much, because we’re going to follow good habits tomorrow.
It doesn’t matter what I eat now, because I’m starting a diet tomorrow. (Research shows that people who plan to start dieting tomorrow tend to over-eat today.)
I’m definitely on track to finish my paper on time, because starting tomorrow, I’m really going to buckle down.
I’ll be really frugal in January so it doesn’t matter if I spend too much in December.
Today I’m eating whatever I want, but tomorrow I’ll be “good.” (People tend to self-regulate day-by-day, but everything counts.)
How about you? Do you find yourself arguing that it’s okay to do something today, because you’ll act differently tomorrow?