According to one Duke study, over 40% of our day is done on autopilot,
like getting dressed, commuting, even getting in the car, turning it on and
pulling out are all on autopilot for most of us. Scary thought. No wonder there
are so many accidents.
So habits are much more important than we may think. Charles Duhigg's NY Times best seller book "The Power of Habit" studies the important and useful facts about how to manage our habits.
According to Duhigg this process within our brains is a
three-step-loop. First, there is a cue,
a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to
use. Then there is the routine, which
can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop
is worth remembering for the future. If you want to set a new habit, you should
obey to basic rules:
·
First, find a simple and
obvious cue.
·
Second, clearly define the
rewards.
For example, if you want to start running
each morning, it’s essential that you choose a simple cue (like
always lacing
up your sneakers before breakfast or leaving your running clothes next to your
bed) and a clear
reward (such as a midday treat a sense of accomplishment from
recording your miles or the endorphin rush
you get from a jog). But countless
studies have shown that a cue and a reward , on their own aren’t enough
for a
new habit to last. Only when your brain starts expecting the reward –craving the
endorphins or sense of
accomplishment- will it become automatic to lace up your
jogging shoes each morning. The cue, in addition
to triggering a routine must
also trigger a craving for the reward to come.
On the other hand, if you want to change a
habit you should know that it cannot be eradicated – it must,
instead be
replaced. And we know that habits are most malleable when the Golden Rule of
habit change is applied: If we keep the same cue and the same reward, a new routine must be inserted instead
of the existing one.
Finally, there are keystone habits, the habits that have the power to change and transforms other things. Typically, people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel leess stressed.
