In my latest (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.
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.
Eighth of ten loopholes: the Fake Self-Actualization loophole.
This loophole comes in the disguise as an embrace of life or an acceptance of self, so that the failure to pursue a habit seems life-affirming—almost spiritual. But for most of us, the real aim isn’t to enjoy a few pleasures right now, but to build habits that will make us happy over the long term. Sometimes, that means giving up something in the present or demanding more from ourselves.
- You only live once.
- I love life too much to deprive myself of this.
- It’s too nice a day to spend doing this.
- I’ll be sorry if I don’t at least try it.
- I should celebrate this special occasion. (How special is it? National Cheesecake Day? A colleague’s birthday?)
- I live in the moment.
- I want to embrace myself, just as I am. (I try to remember to Accept myself, and expect more from myself.)
- I have to die of something.
- If I don’t make any demands on myself, I’ll feel better.
When I was explaining my Abstainer approach to an acquaintance, she scolded me, “You only live once! Eat a brownie, enjoy life!”
“We only live once, but we live a long time—we hope,” I answered, with some irritation. “I’m happier when I skip the brownie.”
It’s true, however, that sometimes we do want to live in the moment, we do want to take advantage of an opportunity. As with many loopholes, a great way to handle this conundrum is with planning. You’re an adult, you make the rules for yourself, you can mindfully choose to give yourself an exception to a usual habit.
So you might think, “My habit is that I don’t drink at home on weeknights, but next week is our anniversary, so we’re going to have champagne.” Or “I’ve promised myself to work on my thesis every single day, but on the first sunny day about 70 degrees, I’m playing hooky to go for a day-long bike ride.”
By planning for an exception, you stay in control, you ensure that your habits are working for you. Usually, loopholes are invoked in the heat of the moment, in the eagerness to find an excuse to junk a habit.
Here’s a test that can sometimes be useful: how do you feel about your exceptions later? Do you think, “I’m so happy I embraced the moment” or do you think, “Hmm…looking back on it, I wish I’d made a different decision”?
How about you? Do you sometimes invoke self-actualization to justify an action — and then regret it later?