Habits and patterns are often used interchangeably, blurring the line between them.

However, it’s crucial to understand the distinction between the two, as they operate on different levels of our behavior and mindset.

Let’s start with the difference between a pattern and a habit:

• A habit is a behavioral expression, something which you do, for example nail biting or hanging your jacket on a chair instead of on a hanger.
• A pattern is an expression of (unconscious) beliefs, stories we formed based on observations of ourselves and the world. They are developed based on previous experiences (positive and negative) and can be recognized as a thinking or emotional patterns.

In other words, where a habit is above the surface of the iceberg, a pattern goes one level deeper. Eventually, you will find your beliefs, below the iceberg, at the deepest level.

My example

One of my habits used to be to working more and longer, whenever the pressure increased for a deadline or my to-do list was growing exponentially. I thought that by working harder and more hours, I’d be able to complete my to-do list and deliver on my promises.

I formed this habit, because I had observed a pattern of successful examples (corporate leaders) who also started working more and longer when needed. As a result, this became my thinking pattern on how to successfully climb the corporate ladder.

In my case, my habit and thinking pattern were also amplified because of my belief system.

I had the belief that ‘saying no’ would not be friendly and helpful for the team or to achieve the objective. ‘Saying no’ would create adversaries, something which was instilled in my belief system from a very young age. Thus, I avoided ‘saying no’, especially with new requests for work.

You can imagine that the combination of my belief system (not ‘saying no’) and my thinking pattern (how to become successful in a corporate) fueled my habit of working more and longer.

So what was my take-away on this?

By becoming aware of my habits, patterns and beliefs, it helped me to make a choice on what it is that I wanted to accomplish; sticking with my current system and its consequences or breaking through my habits, patterns and beliefs. I chose the latter, because working smarter would enable me to become the person I aspired to be. You can find more about my personal transformation in this blog.