When Making or Breaking Habits, Think of the 'Cue'
In on of my favourite books, Atomic Habits by James Clear, he tells us that when performing a habit, we go through 4 steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.
When giving up habits we often try to just simply adjust our response, practicing our willpower (which is difficult), when we could more easily remove the cue in the first place. Eg. If seeing chocolate in the cupboard makes you want to eat it, move where it is, or just don't buy it. Make it easier to never trigger the cue.
Conversely, if taking up a habit, like remembering to floss your teeth, you want to make the cue as obvious as possible so that you remember. Eg. Leave the dental floss (or a note that says 'floss') so that you can't go to bed without coming across the reminder.
How can you apply that in your own life with the habits you're trying to make/break?
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