You Can Be Consistent Too! The Science Behind Forming Habits

Business August 15, 2022

We all have habits that we develop with time; some are beneficial, and some get us in trouble. Breaking an unwanted habit that’s affecting the quality of your life is not easy. However, adopting new habits may be easy if we understand how we develop them in the first place.

How Do Habits Develop?

The three Rs can be one of the ways through which habits develop.

Reminder – A reminder is an unconscious cue that constantly reminds you of the action, which eventually leads to the action turning into a habit.

Routine – This is the fear that may make you repeat the action, again and again, making it a habit.

Reward – Reward associated with a behavior helps to motivate the person to stick to it.

With the above ideology in mind, there are a few steps that you can take to kick your habit goodbye.

Cottonbro/Pexels |Remind yourself why you want to quit the habit by writing it out on paper and viewing it repeatedly.

Identify Your Trigger

A trigger is the main step toward developing a habit. Observe the trigger behind your habit to easily stop yourself from doing it. For example, if you want to quit staying up late at night and you realize you stay up late if you watch Tv or use a cell phone. Then the trigger would be TV and mobile phone. To quit this habit, you can stop yourself from watching Tv and using your mobile phone right before bedtime.

Focus On the Reason for Change

Remind yourself of all the reasons why you want to quit the habit. It would be best if you could write all these habits on paper and stick it on your fridge or your mirror. This way, the motivation to quit the habit keeps fresh in your mind and doesn’t let you give up.

Joey/Pexels |Some habits can be difficult to quit so go slow.

Ask a Friend to Help You

If a friend suffers from the same habit, you can ask him to accompany you in quitting the habit. Even if your friend is not dealing with the same habit, he can still motivate you when he sees you slipping from your goal.

Replace the Habit With a New One

It might be easier to break a habit if you adopt a new, better habit close to the one you want to quit. If you want to stop eating candy, start stocking up on nuts and other healthy alternatives to satisfy the craving.

Polina/Pexels | Reward yourself for the progress towards the goal.

Prepare for Slip-ups

Breaking up an old habit is not easy, so slip-ups are expected. It won’t be easy to budge the old habits that took time to develop. Prepare yourself for slipups, so you don’t feel guilty or give up on your ultimate goal.

Be Happy With What You Achieve

Breaking the stubborn habit won’t be easy and will not happen overnight. Instead of being frustrated about not being able to quit your bad habit, it’s better to be motivated about your progress. Look at your success instead of your failure to stay on your goal.

Reward Yourself For the Progress

Acknowledging yourself for the progress that you have made can motivate you to work even harder to kick off your habit. Treat yourself with small rewards to boost your confidence and drive to stay focused.