Our habits make or break us. They represent our patterns of behaviour - which with intentional recognition and effort we can curb to align with different goals we have and achieve the outcomes we hope for.
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This topic explores how habits form and what aspects within the habit forming cycle we can leverage to build the habits we want to build (or replace).
The topic is heavily dependent upon online involvement in forums - where you share reflections upon the content explored within a collaborative learning environment. Some of the topics covered include:
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What are Habits
Having an awareness of how habits they form provides a tool for constructing new beneficial behaviours and breaking redundant old ones.
Duhigg in his book "Habits" describes habits forming through a three-step loop process that functions to create ‘sticky’ habits. First there is a cue or trigger that tells your brain which automatic mode and habit to draw upon, followed by a routine action or response and lastly a reward which makes the brain associate the original trigger with the reward and creates a compulsion to repeat the action when that trigger presents itself again.
The way habits form can be related to the activity of the brain neurons which control our behavious - 'neurons that fire together wire together’. This highlights the way the brain creates strong associations between triggers, actions and rewards. This behaviour is rooted in survival and made it easier to remember environmental stimuli associated with particular rewards to allow us to better recognise and respond to those stimuli in the future.
An awareness of how habits form can however be used as a way of re-wiring existing habits and associating different rewards with triggers that occur. For example, if tension acts as a trigger and the response associated with that trigger is to avoid social situations (picking one relevant to me here) and the reward is a relaxation of tension; then different behaviours can be intentionally practiced to determine which other behaviours can be practiced that result in the same reward (release of tension) but still enable you to engage positively within social situations.
However, each habit is associated with a unique set of triggers, emotional attachments and associated with past events of varying strength and egoic attachment. This can make changing habits difficult.
Forming habits are a way to be able to consistently execute upon your vision and mission within day to day activities that slowly propel you towards the future you envasion. Duhigg (2014) describes habits forming through a three-step loop process that functions to create ‘sticky’ habits. First there is a cue or trigger that tells your brain which automatic mode and habit to draw upon, followed by a routine action or response and lastly a reward which makes the brain associate the original trigger with the reward and creates a compulsion to repeat the action when that trigger presents itself again. As Sloan (2011) describes ‘neurons that fire together wire together’, highlighting the way the brain creates strong associations between triggers, actions and rewards. This behaviour is rooted in survival and made it easier to remember environmental stimuli associated with particular rewards to allow us to better recognise and respond to those stimuli in the future (Jarvis, 2005).
Motivation is seen as a key factor in applying habits. There are, however, biological challenges in seeking to motivate oneself, as the primal instinct that drive us all is to seek safety and avoid conflict and challenges from which we could grow from. The reality is often that motivation to change behaviour is hard to achieve, biologically fought against and leaves you feeling anything but motivated to carry out these actions on anything but the most sporadic basis.
Self-motivation can be improved by developing a strong locus of control, which can be strengthened by taking ownership of situations and making conscious decisions that help create mental ‘buy in’ and facilitate initial progress away from inertia.The brains reluctance to change self-protecting behaviours can be eased by making a small start on a project or making conscious choices about a challenging task to create a sense of empowerment and control over the execution of the new behaviours.
Another insight for supporting new habits is using visualisations, associated with creating mental model of desired outcomes that lay the neural groundwork for reinforcing a behaviour or even create new associations to old triggers by consciously choosing different responses.
Accessing the bodies deep intuitive reaction to thoughts, feeling and reactions is a way of sensing the limbic systems reactions to events and through this awareness experiment with different approaches to situations that can be used to create new habits. A mindful attention to your body can generate an awareness that brings you back in contact with yourself and allows you to choose more effective emotional responses to situations. This can be described as a ‘somatic intelligence’ where an awareness of sensation, emotion, and cognitive interpretation of events interact and determine a person’s experience of life.
Duhigg in his book "Habits" describes habits forming through a three-step loop process that functions to create ‘sticky’ habits. First there is a cue or trigger that tells your brain which automatic mode and habit to draw upon, followed by a routine action or response and lastly a reward which makes the brain associate the original trigger with the reward and creates a compulsion to repeat the action when that trigger presents itself again.
The way habits form can be related to the activity of the brain neurons which control our behavious - 'neurons that fire together wire together’. This highlights the way the brain creates strong associations between triggers, actions and rewards. This behaviour is rooted in survival and made it easier to remember environmental stimuli associated with particular rewards to allow us to better recognise and respond to those stimuli in the future.
An awareness of how habits form can however be used as a way of re-wiring existing habits and associating different rewards with triggers that occur. For example, if tension acts as a trigger and the response associated with that trigger is to avoid social situations (picking one relevant to me here) and the reward is a relaxation of tension; then different behaviours can be intentionally practiced to determine which other behaviours can be practiced that result in the same reward (release of tension) but still enable you to engage positively within social situations.
However, each habit is associated with a unique set of triggers, emotional attachments and associated with past events of varying strength and egoic attachment. This can make changing habits difficult.
Forming habits are a way to be able to consistently execute upon your vision and mission within day to day activities that slowly propel you towards the future you envasion. Duhigg (2014) describes habits forming through a three-step loop process that functions to create ‘sticky’ habits. First there is a cue or trigger that tells your brain which automatic mode and habit to draw upon, followed by a routine action or response and lastly a reward which makes the brain associate the original trigger with the reward and creates a compulsion to repeat the action when that trigger presents itself again. As Sloan (2011) describes ‘neurons that fire together wire together’, highlighting the way the brain creates strong associations between triggers, actions and rewards. This behaviour is rooted in survival and made it easier to remember environmental stimuli associated with particular rewards to allow us to better recognise and respond to those stimuli in the future (Jarvis, 2005).
Motivation is seen as a key factor in applying habits. There are, however, biological challenges in seeking to motivate oneself, as the primal instinct that drive us all is to seek safety and avoid conflict and challenges from which we could grow from. The reality is often that motivation to change behaviour is hard to achieve, biologically fought against and leaves you feeling anything but motivated to carry out these actions on anything but the most sporadic basis.
Self-motivation can be improved by developing a strong locus of control, which can be strengthened by taking ownership of situations and making conscious decisions that help create mental ‘buy in’ and facilitate initial progress away from inertia.The brains reluctance to change self-protecting behaviours can be eased by making a small start on a project or making conscious choices about a challenging task to create a sense of empowerment and control over the execution of the new behaviours.
Another insight for supporting new habits is using visualisations, associated with creating mental model of desired outcomes that lay the neural groundwork for reinforcing a behaviour or even create new associations to old triggers by consciously choosing different responses.
Accessing the bodies deep intuitive reaction to thoughts, feeling and reactions is a way of sensing the limbic systems reactions to events and through this awareness experiment with different approaches to situations that can be used to create new habits. A mindful attention to your body can generate an awareness that brings you back in contact with yourself and allows you to choose more effective emotional responses to situations. This can be described as a ‘somatic intelligence’ where an awareness of sensation, emotion, and cognitive interpretation of events interact and determine a person’s experience of life.
Four Steps to Habit Change
The four stages of habit are best described as a feedback loop. They form an endless cycle that is running every moment you are alive. This “habit loop” is continually scanning the environment, predicting what will happen next, trying out different responses, and learning from the results.
In summary, the cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue. Together, these four steps form a neurological feedback loop—cue, craving, response, reward; cue, craving, response, reward—that ultimately allows you to create automatic habits.
We can split these four steps into two phases: the problem phase and the solution phase. The problem phase includes the cue and the craving, and it is when you realize that something needs to change. The solution phase includes the response and the reward, and it is when you act and achieve the change you desire.
All behaviour is driven by the desire to solve a problem. Sometimes the problem is that you notice something good and you want to obtain it. Sometimes the problem is that you are experiencing pain and you want to relieve it. Either way, the purpose of every habit is to solve the problems you face.
In summary, the cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue. Together, these four steps form a neurological feedback loop—cue, craving, response, reward; cue, craving, response, reward—that ultimately allows you to create automatic habits.
We can split these four steps into two phases: the problem phase and the solution phase. The problem phase includes the cue and the craving, and it is when you realize that something needs to change. The solution phase includes the response and the reward, and it is when you act and achieve the change you desire.
All behaviour is driven by the desire to solve a problem. Sometimes the problem is that you notice something good and you want to obtain it. Sometimes the problem is that you are experiencing pain and you want to relieve it. Either way, the purpose of every habit is to solve the problems you face.
Forming New Habits
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