Your Idea Worth Sharing and Talk Title
Winning Without Willpower
Details on the talk, and why it is a fit for TEDx
Details on the Talk:
I envision my talk through the following 3 lenses: Applicable, Actionable, Engaging.
Applicable: The TED platform is great for spreading this idea to a large audience. Hence, it is important that the ideas shared can appeal and impact a large cohort. The best part of habit stacking is how it can be tailored to each and every member of the audience. Regardless of their age or profession, they will be able to create their own unique stack of habits and apply it in various aspects of their lives from dieting to studying to becoming more fluent in a language.
Actionable: I am determined to leave the speakers with a key takeaway and a worksheet that encourages them to take action today(reword it sounds redundant). If possible, I will stick these customizable worksheets underneath each chair and incorporate it into my speech in some capacity. I will focus the talk around the idea with flavors of anecdotes of how it has helped me as well as the research behind it to tie it to how it could help them. Further, I will emphasize the importance of taking action. The purpose of the speech will be to spark the motivation in each audience member to create their own stack of habits and commit to it for at least the next 8 days. I hope that these habits will stick for some of the audience members and create lasting changes in their lives.
Engaging : I will be very intentional with engagement as it is super important to appeal to a broad spectrum of an audience. I will get the audience interact with me either by talking, clapping or performing few key habits at the start of my talk. As per Nancy Duarte's TED talk, I will aim to incorporate the "what could be" structure throughout my speech to engage the audience with what their new realities could be through Habit Stacking. By strategically pacing my movements on stage, changing my voice tone and speed I will make my talk more interesting. Lastly by using literary tools such as metaphors rhymes and examples, I will try to introduce the idea of habit stacking with more familiar concepts (ex. Lego blocks).
Why It is a fit for TEDx
It is a fit for TEDxUCLA as it is authentic and relevant
Authentic: My idea is not a novel breakthrough. Power of Habits is an idea most are familiar with to some extent. However, the idea of Habit Stacking is a powerful twist on this idea that I am confident many listeners would benefit learning more of. In addition, I have researched both the TED and TEDx databases and have not been able to find any talk on habit stacking.
Relevant: This years theme is time, my inspiration to give this talk in the first place.(reword) Habit Stacking fits with the theme of "time" as it directly relates to how we can manage our time more effectively. As cited by Atul Gawande, checklists help us deal with complexity and increase our productivity. Further, my own story definitely supports these claims as I saw my morning stack of habits go down from 45 minutes to 27 minutes over a period of 12 days.
I envision my talk through the following 3 lenses: Applicable, Actionable, Engaging.
Applicable: The TED platform is great for spreading this idea to a large audience. Hence, it is important that the ideas shared can appeal and impact a large cohort. The best part of habit stacking is how it can be tailored to each and every member of the audience. Regardless of their age or profession, they will be able to create their own unique stack of habits and apply it in various aspects of their lives from dieting to studying to becoming more fluent in a language.
Actionable: I am determined to leave the speakers with a key takeaway and a worksheet that encourages them to take action today(reword it sounds redundant). If possible, I will stick these customizable worksheets underneath each chair and incorporate it into my speech in some capacity. I will focus the talk around the idea with flavors of anecdotes of how it has helped me as well as the research behind it to tie it to how it could help them. Further, I will emphasize the importance of taking action. The purpose of the speech will be to spark the motivation in each audience member to create their own stack of habits and commit to it for at least the next 8 days. I hope that these habits will stick for some of the audience members and create lasting changes in their lives.
Engaging : I will be very intentional with engagement as it is super important to appeal to a broad spectrum of an audience. I will get the audience interact with me either by talking, clapping or performing few key habits at the start of my talk. As per Nancy Duarte's TED talk, I will aim to incorporate the "what could be" structure throughout my speech to engage the audience with what their new realities could be through Habit Stacking. By strategically pacing my movements on stage, changing my voice tone and speed I will make my talk more interesting. Lastly by using literary tools such as metaphors rhymes and examples, I will try to introduce the idea of habit stacking with more familiar concepts (ex. Lego blocks).
Why It is a fit for TEDx
It is a fit for TEDxUCLA as it is authentic and relevant
Authentic: My idea is not a novel breakthrough. Power of Habits is an idea most are familiar with to some extent. However, the idea of Habit Stacking is a powerful twist on this idea that I am confident many listeners would benefit learning more of. In addition, I have researched both the TED and TEDx databases and have not been able to find any talk on habit stacking.
Relevant: This years theme is time, my inspiration to give this talk in the first place.(reword) Habit Stacking fits with the theme of "time" as it directly relates to how we can manage our time more effectively. As cited by Atul Gawande, checklists help us deal with complexity and increase our productivity. Further, my own story definitely supports these claims as I saw my morning stack of habits go down from 45 minutes to 27 minutes over a period of 12 days.
Subject area, idea worth sharing, and why you think this person would be a great addition to TEDxUCLA.
Speaking at the World Luxury SPA awards ceremony in Vietnam
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Subject area & the idea worth sharing
The Main Idea: Using habit stacking instead of willpower to create lasting improvements. The Why: Everyone can start working out, but why do most throw the towel within 2 months? Everyone can set new years resolutions, but why do most fail to make it to February? This is because most of these commitments heavily rely on our willpower. There is a body of research that suggests willpower is a like a muscle. It is a finite resource that gets weaker the more we exercise it. As we continue to force ourselves through challenging tasks, we exhaust this willpower muscle and hence fail to sustainably stick to our goals. We try to add all these new habits into our lives yet fail to stick to any single one over time. ENTER HABIT STACKING: Whilst it is difficult for our minds to keep up with multiple habits, it turns out that it's fairly easy to build a single new routine. The purpose of habit-stacking is to create simple and repeatable routines that organize multiple individual habits into one single routine (managed by a checklist). The goal is to get these designated habits out of our cognitive load, and only exercise willpower to start this one single routine. By eliminating the thought process, the goal is to automate these habits as part of our lives and effortlessly stick to them in the long run. The How: The process is as follows: 1- Identify a "cue" for when you want to your routine to activate. A lot of people are familiar with morning routines where the cue is waking up. I want to encourage the idea that there are cues through out our days which we can take advantage of. (Ex: arriving to the office, dropping off kids, ending of a lecture, taking off work clothes…) 2- Make a list of healthy habits that you want to fit into this routine. Put them in the most logical and time efficient order possible. In the beginning of the routine, especially, focus on small wins. Small wins are actions that require very little willpower but create an “emotional momentum” because they’re easy to remember and complete: crucial for success of the stack. 3- Pick a 5 minute slot. At this stage consistency is the most important factor. Picking one or two of the tiny habits in the checklist to begin with makes it easier to stick to it. Once these 2 items become automatic action, then begin adding the next scheduled item on the checklist by: 4- Build the "After, Will Train". This is the process of stacking habits I call the After, Will Train. By making the trigger for the next action the previous habit, we create a chain reaction of positive habits. This is the concept I will try to use metaphors like dominos and lego blocks to explain. 5- Reward yourself: Rewards are the third piece of the habit cycle. Rewarding the completion of the habit stack makes it more contagious. This can include anything, like watching your favorite TV show, eating a healthy snack, or even relaxing for a few minutes. The best part of the habit stacking process is that it can be used in all areas of our lives. Below is a very simple example that allows me to drink more water, stretch and express gratitude… all thanks to one essential human need: - Cue: Need to go to the bathroom - After I flush, I stretch for 30 seconds. After stretching, I think of 1 thing im grateful for. After the gratitude exercise, I wash my face along with hands (had issues with acne and this really helped me cure it). After I wash my hands, I drink water. This is a very granular example that I've been doing for years, but I think goes to show how the concept can apply to so many areas of our life. |
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Why this person
Public speaking is a big passion of mine and I strive to find ways to get myself involved. I have given 16 speeches, across various platforms in the past 3 years. In addition I: - was a finalist in the national public speaking competition in Malta(2015) - am a member of Splash and have given seminars to high school students for the past 2 years - have participated in Toastmasters at UCLA and Malta - have taken various public speaking courses including my public speaking certificate by ESU and the communications class offered at UCLA Being able to present at Ted is a big dream of mine and to do so at UCLA as a student would be great. As a student I believe I can make my speech relatable to the student body and engage the younger demographics in my speech whilst still keeping it relevant to the general public. |
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What qualifies you to speak about this subject?
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Why this subject?
Whilst my position on this topic may not be as strong as that of a professor running a lab on the subject matter, I have devoted the past 3 years of my life to this idea, have read dozens of books and research around this idea. On a personal level, the reason I am so passionate about it is because it works. I have benefitted tremendously over the years, especially at times of high pressure such as my freshman year. I was taking a full load of classes whilst starting my own software company and balancing my night job as an Access Monitor. The stacks of habits I had in place helped me still be successful academically, whilst maintaining good health despite the rigorous time crunch that I was under. I have also shared this idea with my circle and have received great feedback. My colleague at Deloitte has told me he hasn't missed a day of flossing since summer, my uncle has been going to the gym regularly for the past 11 months (after 55 years) and most recently my resident told me how he has been learning Italian this quarter by simply making it a part of his existing morning routine. |
What specifically are you, or the person you are nominating actively doing to pursue the idea? What applied research is being done to support this idea?
I have been rigorously experimenting with Habit stacking through various areas of my life spanning health, wealth and social for the past 2 years. Using the scientific method, I try to vary certain variables to optimize both the habit stacking process as well as the routines themselves. For example, I have found it takes me 8 days on average till I'm comfortable adding a new habit and that the entirety of one stack is best kept under 45 minutes before it gets daunting. I have tried and iterated 50+ stacks to date and have honed in on some key stacks that I use to date.
In addition to my own experiments, there is an increasingly large body of research surrounding habits. S. J Scott is the person that has coined the term habit stacking, and is an author that has been a large influencer of the habit stacking concept. There is research that confirms that habits that 21 to 66 days which is when the habit stacking concept really begins to manifest itself.
There are loads of studies that prove the superiority of habits over willpower but here are three of my favorites:
1 - "habit processes can improve goal adherence when self-control is low" Neal, D. T., Wood, W., & Drolet, A. (2013). How do people adhere to goals when willpower is low? The profits (and pitfalls) of strong habits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(6), 959-975.
2 - "If you master your brain's autopilot system, you can make a habit of whatever you want" Burrell, Teal. "Force of habit." New Scientist 229.3056 (2016): 30-34
In addition to my own experiments, there is an increasingly large body of research surrounding habits. S. J Scott is the person that has coined the term habit stacking, and is an author that has been a large influencer of the habit stacking concept. There is research that confirms that habits that 21 to 66 days which is when the habit stacking concept really begins to manifest itself.
There are loads of studies that prove the superiority of habits over willpower but here are three of my favorites:
1 - "habit processes can improve goal adherence when self-control is low" Neal, D. T., Wood, W., & Drolet, A. (2013). How do people adhere to goals when willpower is low? The profits (and pitfalls) of strong habits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(6), 959-975.
2 - "If you master your brain's autopilot system, you can make a habit of whatever you want" Burrell, Teal. "Force of habit." New Scientist 229.3056 (2016): 30-34
Additional
Whilst the concept of leveraging habits is not a novel idea, its application through habit stacking is a unique angle that I am confident will benefit many.
I recognize the time commitment necessary for crafting a great speech and I am willing to devote the time necessary to perfect my speech and presentation. I do not have any product to sell, any brand to promote or any other monetary incentive in giving this speech.
It is purely becasue giving a Ted talk has been a big dream of mine since I was very young. I have been watching Ted talks, as part of my shower habit stack 😊, for as long as I can remember. The habit stacking idea has been so pivotal in my life and in the small number of people I have been able to share it with. I would love to be given the opportunity to present this at a Ted stage and hope fully impact the lives of more people positively.
Sincerely,
Mert Gulen
PS: Here is a speech I gave 5 years ago. It was more of a motivational video, with a style definitely different to Ted and very out dated. Alas:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fwSS8IG_hq0BnNkSU1Lx1y9mb_txBSD9
I recognize the time commitment necessary for crafting a great speech and I am willing to devote the time necessary to perfect my speech and presentation. I do not have any product to sell, any brand to promote or any other monetary incentive in giving this speech.
It is purely becasue giving a Ted talk has been a big dream of mine since I was very young. I have been watching Ted talks, as part of my shower habit stack 😊, for as long as I can remember. The habit stacking idea has been so pivotal in my life and in the small number of people I have been able to share it with. I would love to be given the opportunity to present this at a Ted stage and hope fully impact the lives of more people positively.
Sincerely,
Mert Gulen
PS: Here is a speech I gave 5 years ago. It was more of a motivational video, with a style definitely different to Ted and very out dated. Alas:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fwSS8IG_hq0BnNkSU1Lx1y9mb_txBSD9
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