We tend to think of a habit as a single thing, but actually, each habit has three components. There’s a cue, which is like a trigger for a behavior to start, and then there is a routine, which is the behavior itself, and then finally a reward, which is how our brain learns to encode that automatic behavior for the future.
It’s these cues and rewards that really shape how habits occur and how to change them. Whether we like it or not, this kind of habit formation is endemic to our brain. What it will do is our brain will latch on to a cue that is associated with a behavior and a particular reward. And over time, that cue and that reward become more and more and more sort of intertwined. The inner part of your brain will relate them together. And the behavior that is associated with that, that will just sort of happen automatically.
So whether you want to break a habit or start a new habit, the key is to divide the habit into its component parts: cue, routine, and reward. And design it for the result that you want.
Related Posts:
* Meaning Ring – Book#0006 – The Power of Habit
* Meaning Ring – Making Resolutions Stick through Habits