HABIT FORMING CYCLE:
CUE: The signal that triggers your habit, like the clock strikes 1 PM, which means it’s time to get lunch.
ROUTINE: The behavior that follows, such as walking over to the cafeteria and buying a cookie.
REWARD:The source of satisfaction that makes the habit so easy to repeat, like the sugar-induced dopamine high that comes after eating the cookie.
In the Iraq example above, the army major disrupted the crowd’s habits by removing the option to follow their routine. In the past, hunger had cued the crowd to follow a routine of buying food from vendors. Their reward was satiation. Without the food vendors, they couldn’t follow through on their old habits, and most people in the crowd opted to create a new habit of going home to eat. That was exactly the major’s goal.
For breaking habits, you can identify these three components and then swap in replacements. Usually, you start with replacing the routine, which leads to a different reward. For example, to avoid eating sweets in the afternoon, try talking to a friend instead of buying a cookie.
For habits you want to acquire, you can assemble the three parts yourself, although often the cue already exists. As you’ll see in BJ Fogg’s methodology below, identifying existing cues is a great way to form new habits (BJ Fogg uses the term trigger, but he means the same thing as a cue).
SCIENCE
Duhigg cites dozens of academic papers in his book, but the core study observed the behavior of rats in a maze as they searched for a piece of chocolate. If the path remained the same for a week, their brains would show minimal activity while running toward the chocolate. Mental effort spiked only at the beginning and end of the loop, which indicated a learning experience and reinforced the behavior. That low mental activity in the middle is part of what you and I are looking for when we form habits. With a new habit, we’re looking to create new behaviors in ourselves that are effortless.
RIGHT TIME TO USE THIS HABIT-FORMING CYCLE:
No matter whether you’re a habit nerd, an intrigued skeptic, or you just want your kids to eat their vegetables, the risk-reward ratio of tiny habits is excellent. They take little time to set up and close to no effort in executing.
A lot of clients who come to habit coaches are struggling with goals that are way bigger than their current capabilities. If this is you, a Tiny Habit is a nice alternative. You’re making a guarantee to yourself to make one tiny step, knowing that enough of those tiny steps will eventually lead to your bigger goal.
The important thing here is to write down your habit recipe. Then, if you still have trouble with the habit, the most likely culprit is an anchor that either isn’t consistent or doesn’t leave room for your new habit. In either case, just pick a new anchor.
FOUR TENDENCIES FROM GRETCHEN RUBIN:
Upholders. They meet both kinds of expectations readily. Upholders love rules, always have a clear plan and are self-motivated and disciplined. They struggle in an environment that lacks structure.
Questioners. As skeptics, they meet their expectations but resist outer ones. Questioners need to see purpose and reason in anything they do. Clarity as to why they should do something is all-important.
Obligers. This is the most common type. Obligers love satisfying other people’s expectations but struggle to prioritize their own. Being held accountable by a friend, coach, or boss helps them a lot.
Rebels. This category defies both inner and outer expectations. Freedom to choose feels most compelling to rebels. They want to be challenged, but not pressured into doing things.
