What Are Habits and Why Do They Matter?
Habits are a regular pattern of behavior that occur without thinking. They are formed when a regular tendency or practice is continually exhibited over time. Habits can be useful and promote a way of being that is in line with our goals and dreams. They can also be formed as responses to stress and trauma. As habits are used over time, they can become difficult to give up if giving it up becomes necessary.
Habits are often helpful ways the brain creates shortcuts for us to complete tasks that don’t require a lot of brain power. Daily routines we engage in to prepare for the day, brush our teeth, drive to work, or drive home often show up in the form of a habit.
Habits are also used for tasks we complete only frequently, like grocery shopping. Have a tendency to start in a certain isle? That’s a habit. Tend to greet people in a particular way? That’s a habit. Start each day with meditation or a workout? Habit.
The brain uses habits to simplify life. In fact, the part of the brain that handles decision making turns off while we act out of habit. We don’t have to think about what we are doing; we just do it, and the desired result follows. Our teeth are brushed, we are ready for the day, we get to work, and grab items from the grocery store quickly and with precision, so long as we are not hungry!
Habits control our behaviors, and our behaviors shape our experiences, which influence the trajectory of our lives and the paths we travel. But habits are not created without first making some decisions and behaving intentionally. There is some initial work involved in forming a habit. Why is this important? Because if we wish to replicate habits that promote success, it is good to know where to start. And when habits we form to make life easier, become the thing that prevents us from behaving the way we should to attain our goals, it’s easier to know how to change them.
Choose Habits that Promote Success
If we wish to achieve success and excellence in our lives, then we must look at the habits we form and the behaviors we routinely exhibit.
Many people believe that new results create changed habits and behaviors. That when we get rich, married, that degree, have children, buy that house, go on that trip, or some other goal, suddenly our behaviors will change to match our new circumstances. But in truth, it is our changed behaviors that create the environment for those new circumstances to happen. We need to DO something new to GET the new result.
All behaviors are rooted in habits. The results we tend to receive from those behaviors will continue to be the results we get, until we change our root habits. Now that doesn’t mean we have to change how we brush our teeth, but maybe we need to change the way we start our day. Can starting the day with gratitude, rather than mindless hygiene regimens in preparation for a job we are displeased with, change our mindset? Can changing the route to or from work introduce interesting new scenery we wouldn’t have otherwise experienced and put us in a more pleasant mood than the frustrating traffic normally experienced? Might we meet the person we are destined to meet on a different isle at the grocery store? Sometimes little shifts in perspective and routine can open the door to new and unexpected moments and benefits.
How To Change A Habit
So, how does one change a habit?
Understanding how to change a habit is easier when we understand howhabits are formed. Whenever habitual behavior occurs, it does so within a specific sequence of events: A Reminder, The Routine, and The Reward.
Reminder – The Reminder is the trigger or cue that occurs that prompts us to act. Triggers can be conscious, like waking up for work signaling the need to prepare for the day. Or they can be subconscious, like when we experience an emotion (joy, sadness, anxiety, stress) that causes us to react in a particular way (excessive/deficient compassion, over/under eating, social withdrawal/immersion).
Routine – The Routine is the pattern of behavior that is associated with the trigger or cue. The end of the workday triggers the habit for going home. The pattern of behaviors that occur between the trigger and arriving at home is the routine.
Reward – The Reward is the pleasurable result that flows from the behavior pattern, which makes the habit stick. In the same example, the reward would be the feeling upon arriving at home when the routine works normally.
One would think that this loop would be easy enough to change. But remember, the part of our brain that controls decision making has shut off when we behave automatically through habit. The biggest issue to overcome is that our habits occur when, and because, we are not thinking about our behaviors at the time we wish to actively change them.
So, what can we do? We can start by taking the following steps.
Identify the Behavior to Change. Figure out what behavior should change and why. Knowing the why can help us keep focused when life gets tough, backsliding occurs, or other situations interfere with progress.
Identify Triggers and Cues. Identifying triggers and cues can help wake up the “sleeping brain” to alert us to take a different action than we’d normally take in the moment.
Practice Mindfulness. Can also help keep on and awake, the part of the brain that would normally turn off during automated tasks. Practicing mindfulness involves being aware of behavior and ensuring that behavior is intentional, rather than automatic and without thought.
Change the Environment. There is evidence to suggest that we perform automatic behaviors the same way, every time we perform them, if they are performed in the same environment. Like brushing teeth in our own bathroom, pulling into our parking spot at work, or visiting the same location of a chain grocery store. But if the environment is changed, so will the performance of the habit. Think back to the last time you walked into your favorite chain store at a different location. Still head for that same isle? Was it in the place you expected? Could you even find it? When we change the environment our habits are performed in, more of our brain that would normally “turn off,” stays “on.”
Leave Reminders. Since habits are generally carried out by the subconscious, leaving reminders like sticky notes, photos, and mantras, in places frequented -such as, the bathroom mirror, refrigerator doors, computer screen- about the habit to change and why, can help maintain awareness of behaviors and limit automatic actions.
Prepare for Backsliding. Many habits we wish to change are no longer helpful to us and are usually triggered by stressful situations. Be prepared for backsliding and give yourself a break if, and when it happens. Progress is not a linear route on a continually upward trajectory. It usually involves peaks and dips on an overall upward journey.
Give Yourself Time. Although its commonly thought a habit can be formed or changed in 21 days, it can often take a bit longer. Especially if the habit has been practiced for a long period of time and is deeply rooted internally. Be prepared to work on it up to three months or longer, depending on individual circumstances. Keep in mind, even if it takes longer than expected, the habit can be changed.
And remember: To Be. Do.
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