UNDERSTANDINGANDCHANGINGHABITS
Wearewhatwerepeatedlydo.Excellence,then,isnotanact,butahabit.
–Aristotle
INTRODUCTION
Haveyoueverstoppedtothinkaboutyourhabitsorhowtheyimpactyourdailylife?Maybe.But
chancesareyouprobablyhavenot.AccordingtoexpertswithPsychologyToday,habitsformwhennew
behaviorsbecomeautomaticandareenactedwithminimumconsciousawareness.That’sbecause“the
behavioralpatternswerepeatmostoftenareliterallyetchedintoourneuralpathways.”
Thinkaboutthatlastquoteforamoment.Now,thinkabouthabitsyoudoautomatically.Forexample,
howmanytimesadaydoyoupickupyourmobilephonetoreadtextmessages,wanderonFacebook,
orcheckyourInstagramaccount?Didyouactivelythinktoyourself,“It’stimetocheckInstagramnow?”
Or,diditjusthappenwithoutmuchconsciouseffort.
Whilesomehabitscanbedetrimental,suchaswastinganhouronTwitterwhenyoushouldbestudying,
otherscanbegreattohavearound.Learningtobrushyourteethwhenyouwereyounghelpsyouhave
gooddentalhealthwhenyourolder.Anotherexampleisshuttingofthelightswhenyouleavearoom.
Thathabithelpssaveonyourenergybill.
Inthishandoutwearegoingtoprovideanoverviewofstrategiesthatcanhelpyoubetterunderstand
habitformationandhowtocreateandmaintainbeneficialhabits.Alongthewaywearegoingto
providesomeactivitiesthatcanhelpyoustartputtingthesestrategiesintopractice.
UNDERSTANDINGHABITFORMATION
InThePowerofHabit,Duhigg(2012)explainsthatMITresearchersdiscoveredathree-stepneurological
patternthatformsthecoreofeveryhabit(seefigure1).Thefirststepiscue.Itisatriggerthattellsyour
braintogointoautomaticmodeandpromptsthebehaviortounfold.Thesecondstepisroutine,which
isthebehavioritselfandtheactionyoutake.Thelaststepisreward.Ithelpsyourbraindetermineifa
particularhabitloopisworthrememberingornot.Generally,habitshaveimmediateorlatentrewards.
Habitswithimmediaterewardsareeasieritistopickupandcondition,whereasthosewithdelayed
rewardsaremoredifficulttocommittoandmaintain.ThinkabouthoweasyitistocheckyouriPhone
comparedtoexercisingmore.
Let’susetheInstagramexampletoexplainfurtherhowthehabitloopworks.
• Cue:Yourcellphonereceivesapushnotificationthatsomeonelikesorcommentedononeof
yourphotos.Thenotificationservesasacue(ortrigger)thattellsyoutocheckyouraccount.
• Routine:Thisistheactualbehavior.Whenyoureceivethepushnotification,youautomatically
checkyourInstagramaccount.
• Reward:Thisisthebenefityougainfromdoingthebehavior(e.g.,findingoutwholikesor
commentedononeofyourphotos).Recallthattherewardhelpsthebrainfigureoutifthis
particularloopisworthrememberingforthefuture.
Becausesomehabitsarebeneficial,let’stakeacloserlookattheexampleofturningoutthelightswhen
youleavearoom.
• Cue:Thelighttellsyourbraintogointoautomaticmodeandwhichhabittousewhenleaving
theroom.
• Routine:Theactualbehaviorofturningoutthelight.
• Reward:Alowerutilitybillandbetteroverallhomeenergybudget.
CHANGINGTHEHABITLOOP
Nowthatyouhaveanunderstandingofhowhabitsform,let’sturnattentiontochangingthem.
Considerthefollowingscenario:
EverydayafterclassyougotoStarbuckstohangoutwithfriendsinsteadofgoingtothelibrarytostudy.
Youknowthatyouneedtospendacouplehourseachdaystudyingbutsocializingwithfriendsmakes
youhappy.Yourgoalistoimplementaroutinethataccountsformorestudytimeandyieldsthesame
happyfeelingofhangingoutwithfriends.Buthowmightyoudothat?
Onewaywouldbetoconvinceyourfriendstomeetinthelibraryandspendacoupleofhoursstudying
together.Afterwards,youcouldtreatyourselvesatStarbucks.Anotherroutinewouldbetostudyon
yourownandthenmeetyourfriendsatStarbucks.
Ineithercase,youreplaceanegativeroutine(goingtoStarbucksbeforestudying)withahealthierone
(studyingbeforegoingtoStarbucks).Bychangingtheseroutines,youkeeptherewardofsocializingwith
yourfriendswhilegainingnewones:earningbettergrades.Bychangingyourroutine,youincreaseyour
chancesofearningmultiplerewards.
Let’splugthisnewroutineintothehabitlooptoseehowitworks.
• Cue:Thetimeyourclassendstellsyourbrainwhichhabittoemploy.Ifyouwanttobeextra
ambitious,youcouldcreateacalendarnotificationonyourcomputerormobiledevice.
•
Routine:Studyingafterclasswithfriendsoralone.
•
Reward:SocializingwithfriendsatStarbucksafterstudying;earningbettergrades
PUTTINGWHATWEKNOWINTOPRACTICE
Thenextstepistothinkaboutahabityouwanttochange.Thatbeginsbyfirstdescribingthehabit.
Belowareafewquestionstohelpgetyoustarted.TheyweredevelopedbyClaibornandPedrick(2001),
authorsofTheHabitChangeWorkbook.
• Identifyahabityouwouldliketochange.
• Whendidthehabitbegin,orwhendoyoufirstrememberdoingit?
• Hasthehabitchangedovertime?Ifso,describethechangesthatyouhavenoticed.
• Whendoyoutypicallyengageinthehabitualbehavior(dayandtime)?
• Doyouengageinthehabitinaspecificlocation?
• Whatelseisusuallyhappeninginyourlifewhenthehabitoccurs?
• Doesyourbehavioraffectotherpeopleorfacetsofyourlife?
• Whatdoesthehabitdoforyou?
• Howhappy(orunhappy)areyouasresultofyourhabits,orwhataretherewards.
Second,youneedtounderstandhowthehabitoperatesbydiagnosingitscue,routineandreward.This
willhelpyoutogainpoweroveritandbeginmakingchangesyouseektomake.
•
WhatistheHabit?_________________________
•
WhatistheCue?__________________________
•
WhatistheRoutine?_______________________
•
WhatistheReward?_______________________
Becauseahabitisaformulathatthemindautomaticallyfollows,youneedtore-engineerthatformula
bycreatinganewhabitloop.Inthespacesbelow,thinkofahealthyroutinebyplanningforthecueand
choosingabehavioralpatternthatyieldstherewardyouwant.Youmayprovidealistofmultiple
routinesbeforesettlingonone.Inaddition,therewarddoesnotneedtobeoverlyelaborate.Thegoalis
toestablishapositiveassociationwithputtingthehabitintopractice.
• WhatistheHabit?_________________________
•
WhatistheCue?__________________________
•
WhatistheRoutine?_______________________
•
WhatistheReward?_______________________
Itisimportanttonotethattellingyourselfthereisarewardisnotenoughforahabittostick.According
toDuhigg,onewaytogetahabittostickistorepeatit.Inotherwords,repetitionisimportantifyou
wantyourbraintocravethereward.Henotesthat“countlessstudieshaveshownthatacueanda
reward,ontheirown,aren’tenoughforanewhabittolast.Onlywhenyourbrainstartsexpectingthe
reward—cravingtheendorphinsorsenseofaccomplishment—willitbecomeautomatic”(p.51).
ANTICIPATINGPITFALLS
Inatwo-yearstudythatexaminestherateofself-changeattemptsofNewYear'sresolvers,Norcross
andVangarelli(1988)notethat77%ofresolution-makersmaintainedpledgesforoneweek.However,
only19%ofthemkepttheirresolutionsaftertwoyears.Ifthisstatisticisindicativeofhabitsingeneral,
“atleast8timesoutof10,youaremorelikelytofallbackintoyouroldhabitsandpatternsthanyouare
tostickwithanewbehavior”(Clear,2015).
Sothequestionis:howdoyoumakenewhabitsstickwhentheoddsarenotinyourfavor?Youlearned
thatrepetitionisanimportantfactor,butthatisonlyonepieceofthepuzzle.Expertsagreethat
maintaininghealthyhabitsrequireyoutoanticipatepitfalls.Listedbelowareafewcommonmistakes
thatpeopleandsomesolutionsthatcanhelpyounavigatearoundthesehazardsandtowardhealthy
behaviorpatterns.
Pitfall1:Tryingtochangeeverythingatonetime.
Solution:Trytopickonethinganddoitwell.
Thefollowingscenarioisoneyouknowtoowell.Youstartcreatinganewhabitbyfirstgeneratingalist
ofthingsyouhopetochangeoradopt.Youtellyourselfyouhavethewillpowertosucceedandyoustart
offdoingquitewell.Thenliferesponsibilitiesstartpilinguporthepersistenturgetoindulgeinold
habitskicksin.Beforeyouknowit,youfeeloverwhelmedandslowlyreverttooldbehaviorpatterns.
So,howdoyouavoidthis“overwhelmed”feeling?In“ThePowerLess,”LeoBabauta(2009)suggests
changingonehabitatatimeandfocusingondoingitwellbeforemovingontothenextone.He
recommendscreatingalistofbehavioralchangesyouwanttomakeandthenchunkingthembasedon
whichoneyouwanttoaccomplishfirst.Thekeyisfocusingontheonegoal,andafteritbecomesaritual
youmoveontothenextone.
Ifyoufindyourselfstrugglingtopickahabitfromthelistofchanges,tryaskingthefollowingquestions:
1. Whichgoalisgoingtopulltherestofyourlifeinline?Thisisreferredtoasfocusingona
“keystonehabit”(Clear,2015;Duhigg,2012).
2. Focusonthesmallstepsandtakeyourtime.
3. Whatistherippleeffectofthekeystonehabit?Inotherwords,whataretheprimaryand
secondarybenefitsofchangingthehabit?Forexample,exercisingregularlyleadstomore
energy(primary)andresultsinbettersleepandfocusedstudyhabits(secondary).
Pitfall2:Tryingtobeginwithalargehabit.
Solution:Trytomakethehabit“soeasyyoucan’tsayno”(Babauta,2013,qtd.inClear,2015).
Youknowthatstartinganewhabitisdifficult.Andwhenyoutrytoachievetheresultyouwantright
awaywithmaxeffort,youtendtoincreasethatdifficultyandsetyourselfupforfailure.Takethegoalof
developingahabitofexercisingregularly.Youstartoffbyworkingoutanhourortwoeveryday.Aftera
weekorsoyoudiscoverthatdevotingalargeamounttimetoanewexerciseregimen,whenthebodyis
notusedtoaworkoutroutine,istoodifficulttomaintain.Ultimately,yougiveup.Mosteveryonehas
experiencedasituationlikethatbefore.
Accordingtohabitsexperts,thegoalshouldbetostartsmallandeasy,builduptothirtyminutesand
thentoanhourortwo.Babautaexplainsthat“actuallydoingthehabitismuchmoreimportantthan
howmuchyoudo.”Hesays:
Ifyouwanttoexercise,it’smoreimportantthatyouactuallydotheexerciseonaregularbasis,
ratherthandoingenoughtogetabenefitrightaway.Sure,maybeyouneed30minutesof
exercisetoseesomefitnessimprovements,buttrydoing30minutesadayfortwoweeks.See
howfaryouget,ifyouhaven’tbeenexercisingregularly.Then,ifyoudon’tsucceed,try1-2
minutesaday.Seehowfaryougetthere.
Ifyoucandotwoweeksof1-2minutesofexercise,youhaveastrongfoundationforahabit.
Addanotherweekortwo,andthehabitisalmostingrained.Oncethehabitisstrong,youcan
addafewminuteshereandthere.Soonyou’llbedoing30minutesonaregularbasis—butyou
startedoutreallysmall.
Let’snowputthissituationinthecontextofestablishingstrongerstudyhabits,usingtheexampleof
studyingbeforehangingoutwithfriendsatStarbucks.
• Cue:Thetimeyourlastclassendstellsyourbraintogointoautomaticmodeandwhichhabitto
employonceclassisover(i.e.,goingtothelibrary).
• Routine:Studyingafterclasswithfriendsoralone.
• Reward:SocializingwithfriendsatStarbucksafterstudying;earningbettergrades
Itisimportanttoaskhowmuchtimeisneededforstudying.Thirtyminutes,onehour,twohours,more?
Remember,thisisanewroutineandyouwanttoavoidfailure.Ifyourgoalistostudytwohoursafter
class,youmightstartoutstudyingforthirtyorforty-fiveminutesandthenleaduptothat.Remember,
youwanttomakethehabit“soeasyyoucan’tsayno”(Babauta,2013).
Pitfall3:Notchangingyourenvironment.
Solution:Createanenvironmentthatpromotesaccountabilityandhealthylifestyle.
AccordingtoClear(2015),“ifyourenvironmentdoesn’tchange,youprobablywon’teither.”Thatmeans
habitsarepartofyourphysicalandsocialenvironment.Forexample,smellingdeliciousfoodisacueto
eatorseeingyourtelevisionwhengethomefromworkisacuetositdownandrelaxfortheevening
(Jackson,Morrow,Hill&Dishman,2004).Similarly,receivinganotificationonyouriPhoneeverydayat
noonoratextmessagefromafriendcouldbeacuethatitistimetostudy.
Youcouldtakethisexampleonestepfurtherbyfillingyourenvironmentwithmotivationalpostersor
post-itnoteswithinspirationalquoteslikethis:“everyjourneybeginswithasinglestep”(Confucius,
philosopher).Youcouldalsokeeparunningrecordofyourresultsandmakeitvisible.Forexample,you
couldreportprogressinajournalorinsocialmediaorablog.Youcouldeventellyourfamily,friends
andcolleagueswhatyourgoalsareandhavethemsendyouremindersandencouragementviaTwitter,
Facebookortextmessaging.Inaddition,theUNCLearningCenterAppCompendiumhaslistofAndroid
andiOSappsthatcanhelppromoteaccountabilityandtimemanagement.Afewthatstandoutinclude
30/30,inClass,Sticky,andWayofLifetonameafew.
Onceagain,let’sputthissituationinthecontextofestablishingstrongerstudyhabits.Thinkabouthow
youmightchangeyourphysicalandsocialenvironment.Keepinmindhowothersmighthelptohold
youaccountable.Asexpertscontend,encouragementfromfriends,familyandcolleaguesprovides
accountabilityandsupportforachievingsuccessfulgoals(Jackson,Morrow,Hill&Dishman,2004;
Dolan,2012;Oliveira,2015).Theycankeepyouontrackandprovideremindersand,moreimportantly,
thenecessaryenthusiasmandsupportforwhenyoufeellikeyou’regoingtofalter.
CREATINGAPLAN
Belowarefoursimplestepsforchangingonehabitatatime(Oliveira,2015):
• Chooseonekeystonehabitanddoitwell.Itisidealtoselectonegoalthatwillbringyourlifein
line.Besuretothehabiteasyandthenslowlyenhancethedegreeofdifficulty.
• Writedownyourplan:Trytocreateahabitloop:cue,routineandreward.Makevisiblewhat
youwilldoeachday.Remembertostartoffslow,focusingoncreatingritualfirstandresults
second.Also,definesuccessinmeasurableterms.
• Makeyourgoalpublicanddevelopasupportteam:Askyourfamily,friendsorcolleaguesto
helpholdyouaccountable.Besuretoreportyourprogresseachday,eitherwithinajournalor
throughyourfavoritesocialmediaoutlet.
• Makeaplanforwhenyoufalter.Writedownwhatcausedyoutostumble.Youwanttobeas
honestaspossible.Mostimportantly,don’tbeafraidtostartoverwitharevisedplan.
References
Babauta,L.(2013,February13).Thefourhabitsthatformhabits.ZenHabits:Breathe.Retrievedfrom
http://zenhabits.net/habitses/
Claiborn,J.,&Pedrick,C.(2001).TheHabitchangeworkbook:Howtobreakbadhabitsandformgood
ones.Oakland,CA:NewHarbingerPublications.
Clear,J.(2015).The3R’sofhabitchange:Howtostartnewhabitsthatactuallystick[Weblog
comment].Retrievedfrom
http://jamesclear.com/three-steps-habit-change
Dolan,S.(2012,January,20).Benefitsofgroupexercise.AmericanCollegeofSportsMedicine.
Retrievedfrom
https://www.acsm.org/public-information/articles/2012/01/20/benefits-of-group-exercise
Duhigg,C.(2014).ThePowerofhabit:Whywedowhatwedoinlifeandbusiness.NewYork:Random
House.
HabitFormationBasics.(2015).PsychologyToday.Retrievedfrom
https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/habit-formation
Jackson,A.W.,Morrow,J.R.,Hill,D.W.,&Dishman,R.K.(2004).Physicalactivityforhealthandfitness.
Champaign,IL:HumanKinetics.
Norcross,J.C.,&Vangarelli,D.J.(1988).Theresolutionsolution:LongitudinalexaminationofNew
Year’schangeattempts.JournalofSubstanceAbuse,1,127–134.
Oliveira,R.(2015,August25).Changeyourlife–onehabitatatime.UCDavisIntegrativeMedicine
Program.Retrievedfrom
http://www.ucdintegrativemedicine.com/2015/08/change-your-life-forever-one-habit-at-atime/