Did you know that almost half of our day is made up of habits? According to a study conducted by psychologist Wendy Wood, approximately 43% of our day-to-day behaviors are habitual.
As we think about disrupting our habit loops—the repetitive behaviors we just can’t seem to stop—it’s important to consider where habits come from and why they can be so tough to break.
The most important step is gaining full consciousness over our daily lives. Keep reading for practical advice on shifting bad habits to healthy habits in this quick, easy guide.
First, What is a Habit?
A habit is a patterned behavior or tendency that is typically difficult to give up. It’s not just limited to classic examples like smoking or drinking too much coffee. Habits can be smaller or less recognized, like scrolling on your phone without boundaries, people pleasing, or even always assuming the worst.
Habits are typically formed and repeated subconsciously, meaning conscious thought isn’t always applied when the association is created or perpetuated. Sometimes, however, we are consciously aware of our habit, but despite that conscious awareness, we struggle with breaking it. Oftentimes, we have an emotional attachment to our habits, which is a big reason why they can be so tough to shake.
Keep in mind: Not all habits are bad! Good habits, like drinking enough water or getting enough sunlight each day, are crucial to our health. The main point is to be aware of our behaviors, consciously making choices that are healthy and beneficial.
How Do Habit Loops Form?
First popularized by journalist Charles Duhigg in 2012, the habit loop model can be used to understand how habits form and persist. It consists of three components: Cue, routine, and reward.
- Cue: This is the trigger that initiates the habit. It can be an external stimulus, like a location, a specific time of day, or a particular event. Or, it can be an internal stimulus, like a feeling, thought, or emotional state.
- Routine: This is our routine response to the cue, following immediately after.
- Reward: After completing our routine behavior, we receive some sort of benefit. It is this reward that reinforces the habit loop and encourages us to repeat the habit the next time we experience the cue.
A common example of this is if you are stressed (cue), you may smoke a cigarette (routine), which may bring you a calming nicotine buzz (reward). Or, as you are getting into bed (cue), you may flip the pillow (routine), which satisfies your habit and allows you to rest assured you have the cool side.
See? Not all habits are bad. Some can be good habits, and some can even be neutral, like our pillow example.
If you have an unhealthy habit you want to kick (who doesn’t?), let’s break down exactly how to stop the habit loop.
How to Break a Habit Loop in 4 Easy Steps
1. Identify the Habit You Want to Kick
The first step is to become fully aware of the bad habit and why it happens. Take some time to reflect on it and how it fits into your routine. Ask yourself?
- When do I do this habit?
- What bothers me about this habit?
Understanding the habit itself and how it may impede your health, happiness, or self-control is necessary to kick it.
2. Determine Your Cues
Now, analyze the cue(s) that trigger the habit. This may require a bit of introspection. Consider the questions:
- What situations or environments make me engage in this habit?
- How do I feel before engaging in this habit? Does this feeling drive the habit?
- How do I feel after the habit? If I feel momentarily better after, what are my longer-term feelings?
This is how we get down to the nitty gritty of what’s causing the habit to begin with.
For example, if you tend to mindlessly eat unhealthy foods when you’re upset, the cue may be your emotional state. Acknowledging the cue creates a better opportunity to disrupt it.
3. Redesign Your Routines
We know our trigger now, which means we can focus on redirecting our energy when the cue arises. Here are some ideas.
Swap Out Unhealthy Routines
Try picking a healthier or more beneficial response to your cue. Think about what else might make you feel better in response to the cue.
If you reach for unhealthy food when you’re sad, try a healthier alternative that satisfies your oral fixation, like snacking on crunchy veggies, chewing gum, or drinking a smoothie. If you’re craving a cigarette because you’re stressed, consider another option that reduces your stress: A brisk walk outside, petting your animal, using a stress ball, or watching something funny.
Make it Simple
We are more likely to adopt habits that are easy. Consistency is key in the habit loop! Start small and work your way up. If you want to start exercising more, commit to just 10 minutes a day or three times a week for the first week. As you build up your appetite for the habit, you can expand the commitment.
Go Easy on Yourself
The first few days will be the hardest, but it will progressively get much easier. If you give in to the bad habit, don’t get down on yourself. Just refocus your energy on the positive habit, and keep building. If you feel like you need a little help with the adjustment, then spend the first week slowly reducing the habit. For example, if you reach for junk food when you’re sad, allow yourself to have a small portion along with some healthy alternatives. With consistent effort and determination, you’ll be able to enjoy it in moderation and not as a routine behavior.
4. Establish Rewards
To reinforce your new routine so you stick with it, it’s essential to establish rewards. Rewards can be intrinsic (feeling good about nourishing your body with a healthy meal) or extrinsic (treating yourself to an ice cream after a week of hitting your workout goals).
Habit stacking is a great way to stick to new habits and create positive associations. Do this by combining one new habit with an existing one. For example, if you drink coffee each morning, you can pair it with a gratitude practice, effectively stacking one good habit with another. This helps to make the new habit more enjoyable while reinforcing it through an existing routine.
How to Maintain Healthy Habit Loops in 2 Simple Ways
Monitor Your Progress
Setting milestones and monitoring progress is an effective way to stay motivated and reinforce your new, healthy habit loops. Consider using a journal or a habit-tracking app to keep track of your daily routine. This helps in several ways:
- Accountability: Seeing your progress helps to hold you accountable and motivate you to keep going. Get other people involved, too, if it will help you stay accountable!
- Reflection: Regularly reviewing your routine allows for reflection on what’s working and what needs adjustment.
- Celebrating the wins: Making your progress visible makes it that much easier to feel proud of yourself. Celebrate your successes, no matter how “small” (no such thing!), and feel the positive reinforcement.
Be Patient and Persistent
Changing habits takes time and effort, and it’s essential to be patient with yourself throughout the process. Small, consistent improvements can lead to significant changes over time. So, go easy on yourself and remember that small progress is better than no progress!
If you encounter setbacks (and you likely will), don’t be discouraged. Instead, view them as opportunities to learn and adjust your approach. Resilience is key to long-term success.
Breaking the Loop: Creating Healthy Habits That Stick
Swapping bad habit loops for good ones is a surefire way to enhance our health and self-control. The power is within us to consciously put our health and wellness first.
Remember, the path to treating ourselves better is not a sprint but a gradual process. With consistency and self-compassion, we can substitute our bad habits for healthy ones and create daily routines that set us up for success.
Let’s commit to nurturing ourselves and breaking free from the habit loops that no longer serve us. Together, we can live in full, healthy control of our decisions!