| THE POWER OF HABITS |

What is a Habit - Within the brain, conscious decision-making is the responsibility of the prefrontal cortex. Due to its constant pursuit towards greater efficiency, it identifies repeated sequences of actions and, over time, converts them into an automatic routine (Known as chunking). When a routine is triggered, the Basal Ganglia, in its pivotal role of governing habits, takes over from the prefrontal cortex. This leads to a drastic drop in neurological activity, in which the mind is able to divert more energy and attention towards other tasks. There is a reason why a lot of the best thinking is accomplished whilst performing monotonous activities like walking or taking a shower.

How to create new Habits - Both, the habit as a whole as well as each individual part need to be clearly defined when attempting to create a new habit. Take, a habit of meditating for example:

The cue could be something physical such as a cup of coffee in the morning, or it could be an emotional state like anger (a basic understanding of your own emotional states is required).

The Routine could be finding somewhere quiet, where you will not be disturbed and meditating for 5 or 10 minutes. For the Reward, it could either be intrinsic (Mental clarity/sense of calm) or extrinsic (Spending time on a hobby). The craving requires all 3 other parts to be clearly defined and completed repeatedly. As the habit loop becomes stronger, the pleasure response will begin to be signaled and a craving for the reward will develop, thereafter powering the loop

How to change old Habits - Attempting to change old habits requires a different approach. The 'golden rule' for changing old habits is to keep the cue and reward the same but insert a new routine that provides the same reward. The habits and cravings that drive our behaviors, until we make an effort to look for them, are often unknown to us. The first step in changing old habits is to become better at identifying the different components of them, in particular the Cue. This means consciously making a note of it every time you notice a trigger. Once you become more aware of them, then you can start to dissect the habit, and come up with a substitute routine that carries the same rewards.

The example of smoking is good to illustrate this point. If the reward that you identify is stimulation (from nicotine), then you can switch out the smoking routine for one that, whilst still providing the reward of stimulation, is not as harmful. This could be stimulation from caffeine or even from completing a set of pushups.