Healthy Habits Key To Nation Building – Sanwo-Olu’s Aide

The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Investments, Mrs. Solape Hammond, has submitted that having healthy habits, especially keystone habits, are essentials in life because they build and sustain society.

Hammond made this known during the monthly webinar series tagged “EXCO SHARES 7.0”, an initiative of the Office of Establishments and Training designed to foster knowledge-sharing between members of the Executive Council and Public Servants on the transformational agenda of the present administration.

Speaking on the topic “Leveraging the Power of Habit”, the Special Adviser said, according to research, about 40 per cent of our daily actions are as a result of our subconscious routines which make up our habits. These habits, she stated, make up about 80 per cent of New Year resolutions failing because people tend to go back to the subconsciousness of their old habits.

While noting that habits help the brain to save efforts, aid collaboration with others and are relentless in formation, Hammond explained that “keystone habits” produce something of a ripple effect in which one little positive change has the potential to produce other positive changes in all different parts of someone’s routine.

“For a massive societal change to happen, finding what the keystone habits are is extremely critical, whether it’s a mindset thing that needs to be fixed or something that needs to be changed. When this is figured out, it accelerates development”, the Special Adviser asserted.

Hammond averred that there are key ingredients that lead to lasting habits, such as Cues, Routine, Reward, Craving and Belief.
Expantiating on the key ingredients, she described Cues as things that trigger behaviours, emotions or a sequence of thoughts. Cue kicks the brain into automatic mode and tells it which habit to use; Routine on the other hand are physical, mental or emotional responses that lead to rewarding; Reward tells the brain the loop is worth remembering in the future; Craving makes you go back to the first process which is the cue, while ‘Belief’ is used to transform habits that are sometimes unhealthy and needs change, hence belief is one of the most critical aspects of the habit formation process.

She opined that public servants can be part of the change mantra by forming good habits, build healthy conversations, collaborate and create positive societal values, stressing that cultivating good habits depends on individuals’ mindset but which can be achieved with determination and commitment.

To further buttress her points, she spoke the words of Charles Duhigg that “Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped”.

The Special Adviser also reiterated the importance of strong cultural values, noting that values help to form habits that can be passed to the younger generation while decrying the erosion of family values and habits in society.

In her remarks, the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Mrs. Ajibola Ponnle, thanked the members of the State Executive Council in attendance for their various contributions to the webinar series, while urging participants to ensure that they have positive habits that will, in turn, move the State Public service forward.