The Habit Loop
Did you know that relying purely on willpower to change your lifestyle is most likely a recipe for disaster? Willpower is often considered the least reliable way to create lasting habit change. Relying solely on willpower places a heavy burden on your mental state. Factors such as stress, fatigue, and your emotional state can all impact the strength of your willpower.
There are other more effective ways to accomplish lifestyle change and reach health goals. If you work with me, we will discuss ways to create an environment that supports your goals and makes taking desirable actions easy. We will also use goal-setting and tracking methods, work on removing obstacles and create routines that turn actions into lasting habits.
One of the first steps I recommend taking is to understand the habit(s) you are trying to break or create. Having a clear picture of the way habits are formed helps us determine ways to foster or squash that cycle. I give you… The Habit Loop (courtesy of James Clear, author of Atomic Habits):
James Clear’s illustration of habit formation
The HAbit Loop
This simple illustration of the way habits are formed helps us see where we can interrupt the cycle to stop unwanted habits or where we can take action to reinforce the cycle. Typically, the loop is kicked off by a cue that triggers a craving. We are then inspired to take some kind of action to obtain a reward that satisfies that craving.
Parts
Cue: A cue is anything that triggers a craving. Cues can be visual (seeing a muffin at the coffee shop), auditory (hearing a phone notification), physical (feeling pain), or other (i.e., strong emotions).
Craving: Cravings occur when something triggers our desire for a particular outcome or reward. We can crave things that don’t serve our health goals (i.e., sugar, a TV binge, etc.) or things that do (i.e., a runner’s high, the view at the end of a hike, a restful night’s sleep).
Response: The response to a craving is whatever action you choose to take.
Reward: The reward is the positive outcome from taking the decided action. Again, this could be something that creates health (i.e., the feeling of achievement that comes with completing your first 5k) or something that detracts from health (i.e., the successful avoidance of the discomfort of taking a jog).
How to Use the habit loop
In the following videos, I will describe ways to use the habit loop to break unhealthy habits or establish healthy ones.
I hope you find this to be a useful tool in your health journey. Taking even the smallest action today can lead to lasting change that improves your life forever.