Power of Habit

Change Your Life By Changing Your Habits

Think about all the things you did today, from the moment you got up until the second you clicked over to this blog and began reading. 

You probably woke up to your alarm, begrudgingly turned it off, threw the covers off your bed, stood up, and shuffled into the bathroom, where you probably took care of buisness, and maybe took a shower or washed your face.  You may have walked into the kitchen, put water and coffee grounds into your coffee maker, turned it on, and then made and ate breakfast.  Later, you drove to work, did the things on your schedule, and drove home.  In between, you probably walked around, used the bathroom, checked your email, used a fork and knife to eat your lunch, and drank water or coffee. 

Now think about how many of those things you did without conciously thinking about them.  Did you have to look at the directions to get to work?  Did you have to be told how to log in to your email?  Did you read the manual for your coffee maker?  Most likely not.  Now consider the things you do that you may consider a "bad" or "good" habit.  Maybe its snacking in front of the TV, going to the gym, smoking, going to church every Sunday, or going out to pick up a 1,000 calorie fancy coffee drink with co-workers at lunchtime. 

What all of your daily activities and good or bad habits have in common is that you do them without thinking.  Your brain learned these behaviors at some point for some purpose, and then stored them so you could stop thinking about them each time.  This is great for efficiency- imagine if your boss had to re-train you every morning!- but it also leads to repeated bad behaviors. 

According to The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, habits contain 3 things: a cue (a trigger that tells your brain to automatically perform a behavior- for example: time for work), a routine (the behavior- drive to work, show up), and a reward (the reason your brain stores that behavior- you don't get fired!).  Duhigg suggests that since habits are stored in our brains, you can't easily break them- you simply have to fight them and overpower them with new, better habits.  The key to this is identifying the cue (WHAT makes you do it) and the reward (WHY you keep doing it), and then replacing the old routine with another. 

In order to replace old habits with new ones, focus on identifying rewards you crave and the triggers that lead you to perform a behavior.  Do you enjoy the socialization that going on smoke breaks at work gives you?  Replace the routine of smoking with going for a walk break with coworkers instead.  Does coming home from a hard day at work trigger you to sit in front of the TV in order to zone out?  Head straight to the gym and let the day unfold in your head as you pound out a few miles on the treadmill. 

As you continue your journey to become healthier, think about your good and bad habits and try to identify why you do them.  It isn't easy, but with a little self-examination, you will begin to understand your brain's reasoning and become better equipped to work at creating more good habits and overcome the bad.