What to know about building habits
Here’s your month-long guide for building habits.
Brushing our teeth first thing in the morning, putting our feet on the coffee table when we’re on the couch, crossing our arms a certain way.
A lot of our day-to-day life is made up of habits.Those things we do automatically, without even thinking about them. When we’re tired, hungry, or just off our game, we’re pretty likely to lean on them so we don’t have to use any more effort than absolutely necessary.
Habits help us:
Behave in healthy ways.
Spend less time deciding whether or not to make a healthy choice.
Let’s break it down…
The habit loop lies at the heart of every hobby.
The habit loop starts with a cue. This triggers the behavior to happen. It can be something we see or experience, a thought or feeling, or even another behavior. The most effective ones happen consistently enough that you repeat the behavior frequently.
Next comes the behavior. The action itself. The quicker and more doable it is, the better. That’ll make it most effective to repeat. When the behavior leads to an immediate reward, it’s reinforcing.
Last is the reward. This is what makes the behavior worth repeating! It can be a pleasant feeling or even a relief.
The more often we repeat an action based on the same cue, the more likely the behavior will become a habit.
This month we’re breaking down the different pieces of the habit loop to build a new healthy habit. Check back throughout the next four weeks for our Weekly Techniques!