The 5 Ingredients of Habit Change

I’m a slow reader. It takes me a good while to wade through most books. If I didn’t care so much about sleep, I would stay awake all night reading, but out of compassion for those who spend their day with me I opt to get my zzz’s. As a result, I’ve only completed a third of The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg; however, I now have a clear understanding of how habits work and what is required to change them.

As I mentioned in a previous post, habits follow a loop consisting of a cue, a routine, and a reward. Duhigg explains that you cannot eradicate an old habit, but you can change it. All you have to do is change your routine. Sounds far too easy, doesn’t it? Indeed, it’s easier said than done, but with our focus being solely on changing the routine, it makes the process a tad more plausible. Our cue will remain the same, and our reward will remain the same. How we go about achieving that reward will change.

Take my bingeing for example. Say I’m angry because someone knocked over my dumpster and spilled trash all over my driveway. I need an outlet to release and soothe my anger so I turn to my routine of bingeing. Through the crunching and rapid movement of my jaw and the surge of endorphins from excess sugar I become calm and soothed. After that reward comes a punishment of more anger, guilt, bloating, and an upset stomach. Clearly nothing about this current habit is beneficial, and I desperately want to change it. The thing is anger will always be a cue, and finding calm will always be the reward so I do my work with the routine. The next time anger arises, instead of bingeing I make a conscious decision to go beat the tar out of the punching bag at the gym. Or I meditate and breathe, sitting with the anger until it subsides.



Inner circle says "Craving for relief"

Changing habits takes deliberate action, and deliberate action can seem daunting (to me, at least) Then I realized I’d already exercised this recently in my own life. When I started the Whole30, I didn’t want to look at my body’s reflection so I covered all the mirrors in my home except for the one in my husband’s bathroom. I avoided that room for the most part, but some mornings I needed something out of there (my husband hoards all the q-tips). Every time I stepped into the bathroom I purposely took my gaze to the floor and avoided the mirror. It was tempting to lift my head and look, but I never once did. That’s what habit change requires: commitment to an action or new routine and executing it with focused intention.

There are two other necessities for habit change aside from the cue, routine, and reward. The first is the belief that you can change. It is essential to know that changing your habits is possible and to cling to hope that you will succeed in that change no matter how many times you get derailed. Visualization also helps and is touted by everyone from weight loss experts to Olympic athletes. See yourself engaging in the new habit. Imagine how it feels completing the actions and what emotions rise as you do. Visualizing your success helps you to achieve success. Second, you need support. You need someone or several someones who can encourage and motivate you and can relate to what you’re trying to do.

Duhigg cites the success of Alcoholics Anonymous when discussing these last two necessities. The second step of the 12 step program states, “[We] Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” This is a key factor to the sobriety of many an alcoholic so is the support from individual sponsors and peers who attend the meetings. Likewise changing your own habits, whether they be as small as no longer biting your finger nails or as large as quitting smoking, require belief and support to be mastered.

Do you feel like you just read a high school research paper? I'm sorry. But now you've got the ingredients so go whip up some positive change in your life! Have a wonderful Wednesday.

 Gratitude30: Today I'm thankful for:

• co-workers that make 9-5 bearable
• green tea
• people willing to listen to me ramble about the same thing several times over
• dedicated spin students who show up every week.
• reminiscing with an old friend