'Badass' author Jen Sincero eyes habits in new book: Here's how not to fail

Jen Sincero is at it again, firing up readers with a new installment in her popular "Badass" series.

This time, the USA TODAY best-selling author has turned her eye to improving behaviors with "Badass Habits: Cultivate the Awareness, Boundaries, and Daily Upgrades You Need to Make Them Stick" (available now).

Sincero tells USA TODAY her other works – which include titles "You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life" and "You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth" – "laid the groundwork" for "Habits."

"This is the roll up your sleeves and let's get her done now that you've spent the time working on all this other stuff," Sincero says.

"Habits" highlights the important role of identity when shifting your habits, addresses potential obstacles and includes a 21-day guide for modifying behavior. But the book is not intimidating – it's an easy read, an intentional outcome on Sincero's part. "What I'm always interested in doing in all of my books is really delivering the material in bite-sized chunks and cutting out any superfluous stuff," she says. "We just want results here."

With a new year right around the corner, there may be some habits you desire to adopt or quarantine behaviors you're looking to shake. Or perhaps reflecting amid the pandemic has inspired you to make changes to be your best self. With that in mind, we had to ask Sincero for tips for you, dear reader – OK for ourselves, we also asked for ourselves. The interview has been edited for clarity:

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Question: Why is it hard for people to change their habits? Why do we fail?

Jen Sincero: I think it's that we just look at the surface, instead of going deeper. I talk a lot in my book about (how) habits are more about who you're being than what you're doing. ... You've got to really identify and bust yourself on how you're thinking, how you're speaking, who you believe you are, what you believe is possible for yourself and start there, and it'll make the actions much easier to stick to.

Q: How does identity come into play when forming these habits and adopting new behaviors?

Sincero: If you identify, for example, as a smoker and then you decide you're going to quit smoking, you do all of the things, right? You stop hanging out with people who smoke, you get rid of cigarettes. Maybe you got a nicotine patch. You do all this stuff, but you're still identifying as a smoker who's quitting. It's very different than if you identify as somebody who doesn't smoke. If you're trying to quit but you're still a smoker you're still thinking about, 'Well maybe I'll just have one puff.' ... If you're a nonsmoker, you don't really think about smoking. It's not really on your radar. Identifying as somebody, it cuts out the negotiation process.

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Q: How can people set themselves up for success?

Sincero: Taking 5-10 minutes to sit down and be like, 'OK, how could I make it so much easier for me to stick to this diet?' And really pushing yourself beyond only buying healthy foods and whatever the obvious things are – getting on a good diet program, joining Weight Watchers – but sitting there and pushing yourself to just put more effort into making it easy ... really pushing it in coming up with specific things that you can do instead of just sort of vaguely hoping it's gonna get better.

Q: What tips do you have to keep people motivated on their journeys?

Sincero: To go to the spiritual gym every damn day. ... Your mindset muscle needs to be worked out every day or you get flabby. Read the self-help books, listen to music that pumps you up, hang out with people who think you're a rock star, meditate, stay in good physical shape. ... You don't need to make this a huge project – literally, five minutes a day of working out at the spiritual gym and keeping that mindset strong makes all the difference.

Q: What is important for people to know if/when they slip up?

Sincero: Speed is of the essence, especially with habits. I talk about how your bad habits have the home-team advantage. You've been participating in them for a very long time, and now you're trying to make a change. So when you fall off the horse, you gotta get right back on. ... You're allowed to be disappointed, you're allowed to feel whatever you're feeling – and feel those things; it's very important to feel things. It's not a Pollyanna situation, but then get over it and get back on.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jen Sincero, 'Badass Habits' author: How to change behavior