The above phrase has been heard quite often lately and we will tell you exactly why it is one of the most accurate phrases out there.
A habit is a routine of behaviour that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. Our habits account for 40% of our behaviour on any given day! They can be good habits like reading or bad habits like sleeping late. These habits are finely woven into our subconscious and ultimately determines our character as well as intellect.
Let us consider this example. Kiara has a habit of dressing sharply and always speaking in a polite manner. She also has a habit of reading at least three pages of any book daily and to logically reason with everything she has read. What do you think is going to be her character and intellect level? We are sure Kiara is loved by everyone and is intellectual.
How are habits formed?
Every habit starts with a Habit Loop which has 3 steps:
1. Cue/Trigger
A cue or a trigger can be a prior action, time of day, location, or anything that triggers the habitual behaviour. For eg., if you eat at 1 pm every day, then the time 1 pm becomes a cue and every day at the same time you will feel hungry.
2. Routine/Behaviour
The routine or behaviour is the action that you do. For eg., eating lunch will be behaviour or routine.
3. Reward/ Reinforcement
It is anything that your brain likes which helps it remember the habit. This completes the loop. Sometimes the reward is visible, for eg., the pleasure of eating food, but other times it is difficult to know the reward. The repetition of this cycle or loop finally results in a habit.
How to make up with a good habit?
1. Start with an incredibly small habit.
When you decide to start a new healthy behaviour like exercising, for the first 2-3 days you might be very motivated to do it rigorously but soon stop doing it after a few days. This is because the harder the tasks less the motivation we have to finish it. Hence, give yourself a task which is so easy that you can’t say no!
For eg., instead of deciding to do 50 pushups a day, start with 5 pushups a day.
2. Increase your habit in very small ways.
Your willpower and motivation are like muscles. They get better with regular practice. It is important to not suddenly increase your habit after a few days. Rather increase your habit gradually. As you increase your habit gradually, even your willpower and motivation will increase gradually. One percent improvements add up surprisingly fast. So do one percent declines.
For eg., keep adding 1 or 2 pushups in your routine every day instead of 5 or 10.
3. As you build up, break a habit into small chunks.
While you keep adding 1% to your habits every day, in a few months your habit will increase drastically. In such an instance it is important to keep each habit reasonable.
For eg., as you near 50 pushups a day, instead of doing all at once, it is better to do 5 sets of 10.
4. When you slip, get back on track quickly.
It is only human to err. Top performers admit to slipping on certain days. But what makes them different from others is their speed of getting back on track.
Don’t aim for a perfect plan but rather plan your failures. Think of reasons which could turn out to be obstacles in your plan and work towards countering them.
Research has proven that missing 1 or 2 days does not impact your habit in the long run.
For eg., if you miss a day of exercising, think about why you did not exercise and try to eliminate that reason. Don’t be disheartened and continue doing exercise next day onwards.
5. Be patient. Stick to a pace you can sustain.
Lastly, we often have unrealistic expectations out of our routine. Being patient and consistent is the key. Select a pace which feels easy for you. Your habit shouldn’t feel like extremely hard work. Instead, focus on the long term goal.
How to break up with a bad habit?
Our undesirable habits are often the result of either stress or boredom. In such a case it is important to realise that our aim should not be to eliminate bad habits but rather replace it with more desirable ones.
1. Choose a substitute for your bad habit.
You need to have a plan of what you will do instead of your bad habit when stress or boredom kicks in.
For eg., substitute the habit of midnight snack with brushing your teeth which would eliminate the urge to eat.
2. Cut out as many triggers as possible.
Be mindful of your everyday activities and recognize your triggers. Once recognized try to cut them down gradually.
For eg., if you have an urge to binge eat every time you are watching tv, cut down your time spent watching tv.
3. Join forces with somebody.
We often have this mindset wherein we don’t include anyone else in our journey. We think we will either surprise them if we succeed or just toss it aside if we fail and no one has to know. But when you start a journey with a partner you can encourage each other and hold each other accountable towards attaining the final goal.
For eg., if you start a dieting plan, include another friend with you. You can keep motivating each other and help each other stay on track.
4. Visualize yourself succeeding.
Visualising your success in therapy has shown to be an effective way of attaining your goals. So, next time you feel demotivated or an urge to fall back into your negative habit loop, visualise not binge eating and attaining your desired goal. Remember the feeling you get when you visualise this and stay with it.
5. Plan for failure.
As we mentioned above, failure is a part of any journey and should be accounted for. Instead of having all-or-nothing thinking, be realistic and plan for your action if you fail.
Start your self-growth journey today with out specifically curated tips for you!
References:
Habit Formation: Basis, Types and Measures for Effective Habit Formation. (2020). Retrieved 24 June 2020, from https://www.psychologydiscussion.net/habits/habit-formation-basis-types-and-measures-for-effective-habit-formation/638
NPR Choice page. (2020). Retrieved 24 June 2020, from https://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147192599/habits-how-they-form-and-how-to-break-them
How to Form Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. (2020). Retrieved 24 June 2020, from https://markmanson.net/success/habits
How to Build New Habits: This is Your Strategy Guide. (2020). Retrieved 24 June 2020, from https://jamesclear.com/habit-guide
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