It's 3 p.m., and you're deep in an afternoon energy slump.
You head towards the office kitchen to grab a glass of water
where you encounter a box of treats that seems to be calling your name.
"Just one," you swear. But that's the third time you've given into
your sweet tooth this week.
As a smart, ambitious person, you know bad habits keep you
from reaching your goals. You know you're capable of self-control. Yet, despite
your best efforts, you've been unable to change.
Whether it's mid-day snacking, procrastinating, or skipping
workouts, feeling powerless in the face of bad habits can really take a toll on
your motivation, even your self-esteem.
What if it's not a lack of willpower that's to blame? What
if the advice you've been given about how to "break" a bad habit is
actually wrong?
If you've been trying different methods over and over but
nothing's working, it's time for a new approach that leverages the science of
behavior change.
The Psychology of Bad
Habits
You can spend hours researching life hacks. However, if you
don't first understand the psychology driving habits, you'll never see any real
success.
When you break it down, habits are comprised of three
distinct stages:
Cue
Routine
Reward
In the mid-day munchies example, the cue is fatigue. This
triggers a routine: getting up and heading to the kitchen. The reward? Yummy
goodness that gives you a temporary energy boost.
It turns out that the habit loop is incredibly powerful and
is something that has been hardwired into our psyches.
It also helps explains exactly why habits are so hard to
shake. The truth is, we actually never break bad habits, rather "bad"
behaviors are replaced with more positive alternatives.
Putting the Habit
Loop to Work
If you're ready to kick bad habits for good, here are three
steps for leveraging the habit loop to finally change your behavior.
This post originally appeared in PsychCentral
Step 1: Identify the
stages
First identify the cue, routine, and reward that lead to
your habit. Look at the circumstances surrounding the behavior including the
time of day, who you're with, and what emotions you're feeling.
For example, recognize how after a tough day at work (cue),
you come home and plop down on the couch (routine). Flash forward and you've
finish an entire series on Netflix (reward). The downside is you've also
squandered free time meant to be used for working on your side business.
Step 2: Explore
alternatives
Now that you have a clear breakdown of what's happening at
each stage of your habit loop, brainstorm healthier routines that will produce
the results you want.
What alternative behaviors might provide comparable reward
to the one you are trying to eliminate? What else would give you a sense of
accomplishment, happiness, relaxation — whatever core need your current
"bad habit" is satisfying?
Create a list of options. Could you swap out your open-ended
Netflix binge for brief meditation or a walk with your partner? Focus on new
routines that will help you decompress after a stressful day
(the cue) and
leave you in a positive frame of mind to get freelance work done (reward).
Step 3: Commit to
change and tweak as you go
Now it's time to experiment with subbing in new routines to
get a sense of what works best for you.
Make do-able commitments to test drive new routines and
approach them as a series of experiments. Maybe you try a post-work meditation
for two weeks and find it's not for you. After more testing, you may find more
vigorous exercise is what helps you get in zone.
Step 4: Anticipate
setbacks
Behavior change is hard. No one is immune from the
occasional slip-up, so when it happens, don't beat yourself up or retreat into
negative self-talk.
Instead, make your habit loop bulletproof: anticipate and
plan for setbacks. If you're trying to stick to a diet, think through
situations that might challenge your healthy eating habits such a fancy
business dinners, traveling for work, or high-stress times.
Once you learn how to work within the psychology of habits,
rather than against it, chances are you'll find greater success in beating
negative behaviors once and for all.
