What is a habit?
Since ancient times, habits have shaped our lives. Everything we do, from brushing our teeth in the morning to lacing our shoes a certain way, is guided by routines ingrained in us from a young age. These actions flow effortlessly, needing no conscious decision-making or extra mental effort. They're like second nature to us.
Our brain leans towards forming a habit as a way to conserve energy for tasks that demand intense concentration and focus. Instead of exerting maximum effort in every task, it wants to simplify the pattern by making it automatic. Thus, through repetition, the brain constructs sturdy neural pathways to create a new routine.
So how do habits emerge?
If we take a look at what is happening behind us, there is a simple cycle of a cue, routine, and reward. Cue is what makes the brain make a decision on behalf of it. For example, after eating a delicious cheesecake, the tongue receptors will signal the brain to release dopamine. After the dopamine hit, a person starts to crave more and eventually creates a “cue” for a new habit. Consequently, eating a cheesecake becomes a “routine” in order to feel the dopamine which is a “reward”. Next time, when someone gets stressed “cue”, the person will buy the cake almost unconsciously “routine” to feel better, which is a “reward”. This cue routine reward cycle is what makes the habit emerge.
Depending on the kind of habit one has, it will create a different outcome in the long term both devastating and positive result. Not only that, our personality and the way we think, can also be a habit that results in specific behavior. However, if we take control of our habits we can shift them by creating new ones.
So how can one change their habit by creating a new one?
Since a habit is a cycle of cue, routine, and reward, we can simply change the routine and have the same reward system. For instance, let's say you scroll through social media mindlessly. Well, the urge to check your phone may have been created due to a cue. A cue can be the feeling of anxiety or boredom which results in scrolling through social media (routine) to relieve the emotion you were experiencing (reward).
Well instead of checking your phone, you can replace it with a different routine that can also create the same reward system. However, before changing the routine be very mindful to find the cue that is triggering you to check the phone. It might be a boredom or a way to circumvent an emotion or feeling. After finding a cue, you can change the routine to make you feel the same reward. If the cue was an unsettling feeling that you were avoiding, simply journaling or meditation to relieve that emotion can give you the same reward. Therefore, by changing the routine, you can replace that unproductive habit by unlocking a healthier one with a more positive effect. Therefore, when we consistently immerse ourselves in productive activities such as reading books, exercising, and getting up early, it will become an automatic habit.
Is our thought process also a form of habit?
As Joe Dispenza, researcher of epigenetics, quantum physics, and neuroscience, said almost 90% of our thoughts are the same as yesterday’s and the day before that. And most importantly our personality creates our personal reality. Because our personality determines how we think, how we feel, and how we act. Basically, we become what we think. Complaining oneself, making excuses, and blaming others are the subconscious programs created by the mind based on a program (habit). As we think, it will create a particular emotion and behavior and result in specific decisions and routines. Thus, by breaking free from that subconscious mind by catching those unsettling thoughts you were thinking, you become conscious of your own self. Becoming conscious and aligning your emotions that match with your future self, will create a new personality. This new personal reality is what makes a different routine form a better habit.
Habit can be your POWERFUL TOOL for success.
Above all, it is no secret that “who we are now?” is the result of our habit. Because all the way from what we think on a daily basis and what we do is the habits that created us. Therefore, your habits can either be your friend or your enemy. Take control of your own habits and make it your best friend NOW.