How many times have you made a resolution to start, or stop something only to see your motivation fizzle out two weeks later? We’ve all experienced this, right? What the heck is that all about? Why can’t we just stick to it? Do we simply have zero will power?
The failure to exercise better self-control and stronger will power can leave you feeling like a complete loser.
But what if I told you that it’s not about self-control or will power? What if you could figure out exactly what precedes a certain behavior that you either want to begin doing (because it’s good for you) or stop (because it’s bad for you)?
It turns out that researchers at MIT discovered how we can do just that! While studying rats running through mazes, they learned that the more times the rats ran the maze the less activity occurred in their cerebral cortex. That’s the area of our brain (and the rats’) that is reserved for higher order thinking. What this means is that as the rats became increasingly familiar with the maze, the less time they spent thinking about how to get through it.
How does this apply to you and me?
Think about getting dressed in the morning. Do you pause to think about which leg goes into which pant leg first, or do you simply do it? It’s automatic, right? Try purposely doing it with your opposite leg and you’ll see what I’m talking about. You’ll need to engage your cerebral cortex a bit to do it because it’s not automatic.
How do we apply this to habits?
When those MIT researchers continued their study, they discovered what they eventually called The Habit Loop.
Every behavior has a cue, a routine and a reward.
If you want to break a bad habit or create a new one, you need to identify the cue(s) that lead to your routine (the behavior) and change the reward. Alcoholics, smokers, people with weight issues, have all done this successfully. In those extremes, there’s an added step: support. I turns out that surrounding yourself with people on the same mission as you does actually help. But for smaller habits, you don’t need that level of support.
Let’s say you have a habit of having coffee every morning, but that it’s messing up your stomach because of the acid. You know you need to give it up, but the damn caffeine withdrawal headaches are not helping you do this (negative reward viewed as punishment).
- What cue(s) lead you to drink coffee in the morning? Is it the time?
- Are you tired and “need” it to wake up?
- Is it the smell?
- Is it seeing the coffee maker?
- Is it seeing Starbucks on every corner?
- Is it a social activity?
After you figure out the cue(s), identify how you can change the routine (create a plan). If you’re drinking it to wake up, then maybe you actually need to go to bed earlier. Replace the cup of coffee with cold water in the morning. Add a little lemon. This will hydrate your tired body and wake you up.
Rewards are as simple as telling yourself, “Good job!” or “You did it!” Positive self-talk is the key here. If you don’t succeed at first, maybe you identified the wrong cue or the wrong reward.
Try implementing tiny habits. The easiest way to do this is to match it with an existing habit. Maybe you want to get a little more exercise into your day. In the morning, after visiting the bathroom, do 25 squats.
That looks like this: After I pee, I do 25 squats and then I wash my hands.
You’ve sandwiched a new, tiny habit between two existing habits. The key is to keep the tiny habits to 30 seconds or less.
Do you want to learn more about habits? Check out these great resources!
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
On Second Thought by Wray Herbert
I started with a few tiny habits like incorporating squats, push ups and pull ups into my day. I track my habits with a few different apps:
Habit Bull
Habitica (Started this one Sept. 1, 2015)
What habit are you adding or changing today? I’d love to support you! Let me know in the comments.
*** The books are affiliate links. If you decide to purchase one or both, I might receive a little reward for that. Thanks! ***