The Power of Habit

Habits shape much of our daily lives, often without us realizing it. Some habits serve us well, while others hold us back or harm our well-being. The key to change lies in understanding the habit loop — the cycle that drives our behaviors — and then intentionally reshaping it. This post explores how to break old habit loops and build healthier routines that stick.

I'm going to share my personal experience of what I've learned about my own habits and how I've successfully changed them. I essentially, begin by asking myself if the habits are serving me well, if they are aligned to my core values, and if they are moving me closer to my goals. Through this excersice, I've learned to understand that the sum of your habits controls the outcome of your life, playing a huge factor in your happiness. They make you fit or fat, healthy or unhealthy, happy or sad. Your success depends on them. So it's fair to say that improving or replacing your old vices with new behaviors should do the trick.

As I navigated to better understand habits that were not working for me, I utilized the people closest to me for guidance. One person being my sister, who's a personal historian and my personal wikipedia but with more embarrasing footnotes LOL. She now holds a Masters in Physcology and Clinical studies. My sister once provided me with the following framework questions that I now peridocially use to understand my own habits:

• Identify the trigger responsible for my behavior (cue)

• Recognize the behavior that led me to take action (routine)

• Acknowledge the reward of my action (reward)

Once I understood the framework above, I then ask myself what other trigger and behavior would help me get the same or similar reward. Changing the trigger (or cue) and the behavior (or routine) is crucial to forming a new and better habit.

For example, during the global outbreak lock down in 2020, Covid-19, I developed a late-night binge of eating great portions of unhealthy snacks and what was once my drug, Butter Pecan ice cream, from Braums, while watching late night TV shows. I knew I was not matching my actions with my core value of being fit and healthy, but it was a strong habit.

What was my trigger (or cue)?

Television

What was my behavior (or routine)?

Eating snacks and Butter Pecan ice cream from Braums

What was my reward?

Feeling good (until guilt sets in)

Recognizing and replacing this habit to reform a new: Set a reminder to stop eating after 7pm and set an alarm for 30 minutes of physical activity.

New trigger (or cue)

Set alarm for physical activity

New behavior (or routine)

30 minutes of physical activity while reading my core values

Same reward

Feeling good both for not binge eating and for being consistent with my core values.

If your intention is to be fit and healthy but your habit is to eat junk like I did, guess what? You are not being true to yourself; your behavior is not matching your intent. So, if you feel anxious about things you should'nt be doing, ask yourself if your actions are matching your thoughts. Personally, it was a choice of cultivating the right mindset by deciding to change from the inside out. You'll do what's conducive to your health and well-being. Be intentional as you recognize your behavior of breaking the habits. Continue to practice and reflect until the process becomes second nature, you'll be refreshed knowing that this was who you simply were all along :).

-Antoinet Webster