When your goal is to adopt a different, healthier, new lifestyle; understanding how you can better develop good new habits, as well as how to break any old bad ones is key for your success.
Research into human behavior and habit formation has shown that once the brain is exposed to a “cue”, it then follows with action (a routine) to get to the “reward”.
This sequence develops a neural pathway linking all those things together, turning habits into automatic/unconscious actions. This is what makes habits (both good and bad) so hard to break. It is also what makes good habits free up your mental capacity so you can better focus on new tasks and master new challenges.
Charles Duhigg has introduced the “Habit Loop” as CUE➡ROUTINE➡REWARD
James Clear took it a step further and presented as CUE➡CRAVING➡RESPONSE➡REWARD
We can take this understanding of the “Habit Loop” and follow these steps⬇
When building good habits:
▶Make the “cue” obvious
▶Create the “craving/desire” by making it attractive
▶Make it easy to “respond” or act
▶Provide a “reward” by making it satisfying
When breaking bad habits:
▶Make the “cue” not visible
▶Remove the “craving/desire” by making it unattractive
▶Make it difficult to “respond” or act
▶Make it unsatisfying removing any “reward”
Here is an example for building a good habit:
✶GOAL - To drink more water
✶CUE - Make a water bottle visible wherever you are.
✶CRAVING - Add something to your water that makes it more desirable, such as ice or fruit.
✶RESPONSE - Have it always available near you making it easy to access it.
✶REWARD - Seeing your progress. A see-through bottle or a bottle with motivational quotes & times that allows you to keep track of your progress is great for providing a sense of accomplishment.
Give it a try! 👍
-Your Coach
"𝙒𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙪𝙨" -Dryden
