Atomic Habits – How to Make Positive Changes in Life?

How do habits work?

Formed habits, or activities that we do routinely, are the best way to support our physical and mental health. Knowing the mechanisms of formation and persistence of new habits, we can consciously use them in everyday life.

Habits are formed by the regular repetition of some behavior. Our mind, recognizing that we are in a situation similar to those we have experienced before, creates neural pathways responsible for repetitive sequences of events. Thanks to this, we easily reproduce the same behaviors, without having to think for a long time, which eliminates the effort involved in making decisions. We perform actions according to the established scheme, for example: “I run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 18:00.” Unfortunately, this mechanism also works the other way — if we reach for chips always while watching a show, it can be increasingly difficult to consider whether it is actually beneficial for our health.

What is a habit loop?

The habit loop is a concept popularized by Charles Duhigg in the 2012 book “The Power of Habit”. It explains how habits are formed and how we can consciously use them to implement such habits that will support us and eliminate those that are undesirable. This model consists of four components:

1. tip

The cue, otherwise the stimulus that initiates the habit, can be both external and internal. To lead to the formation of a new habit, the stimulus must be repeated regularly. We distinguish five categories of such tips:

• venue — a stimulus related to a specific location, e.g. the sight of a favorite cafe can encourage us to drink coffee,
• time of day — habits can be associated with a certain time, e.g. the evening is associated with applying cream on the face,
• emotional statey — emotions and thoughts can trigger habitual behaviors, e.g. stress can lead to snacking,
• other persons — the presence of certain people can trigger certain habits, e.g. smoking cigarettes is easier for us in the company of smokers,
• activities immediately preceding — a trigger resulting from the combination of two consecutive activities, e.g. brushing your teeth after breakfast.

2. Habit (behavior)

The behavior following the cue is otherwise the essence of habit. It can be both physical (the activity performed) and mental or emotional. These behaviors can be simple, such as applying toothpaste to a toothbrush, or more complex, such as the order in which we put on clothes when we get dressed in the morning. In the habit loop, the behavior becomes automatic over time. By repeating the same action many times, we create a connection in our brain between a cue and a habit, which leads to the formation of a habit.

3. bounty

A reward is a positive result, consequence, or satisfaction felt after an action. It reinforces the forming habit, perpetuating our behavior and encouraging our brain to remember and replay the habit loop in the future. Rewards can take many forms, such as feelings of satisfaction and satisfaction in achieving a goal, physical pleasure, or feeling relieved after a stressful situation. Our brain is constantly looking for these types of rewards, which favors the formation of habits by memorizing the loops of the habit played. Over time, it begins to associate the cue directly with the reward, making us perform the behavior automatically, with minimal mental effort.

4. Thirst

Desire is another element of the habit loop, which greatly influences its formation. It's the force that drives our brains to make connections between cues and rewards. For example, if we buy a cookie every day at work, which we then consume during a break, it is not the act of eating itself that motivates us to repeat this habit, but the desire to disconnect from work, the feeling of comfort and pleasure, and the energy boost that comes from consuming sugar.

What to do to change habits?

Because habits function according to the cue-reward cycle, Duhigg suggests that the key to changing habits is to break the habit loop and modify its elements. So, if you want to stop eating chips while watching the show, try:

1. Recognize the trigger — check what situations or circumstances lead to a particular behavior, e.g. the trigger for the craving for chips can be watching a series.
2. Modify custom — once you know a cue that causes a particular behavior, you can change your behavior following it, such as replacing chips with sliced apples.
3. Change the prize — find a gratification that satisfies your craving for a given habit. If the reason for reaching for chips was the satisfaction of crunching, the crunchiness of apples can turn out to be just as nice. Thanks to this, despite the modification of the habit, we will not be deprived of the reward.

The key role of context

The formation of habits is largely based on the repetition of a certain activity. Research indicates that habits are formed when an activity is performed repeatedly in the same context, that is, in a specific place and time. A study published in 2010 suggests that it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit. However, this time may vary depending on the complexity of the activity and the individual characteristics of the person implementing the new habit.

Over time, repeated actions become automatic and even subconscious. Developing simpler habits, such as drinking a glass of water in the morning, requires fewer repetitions. In contrast, for more complex habits, such as regular physical exercise, the time it takes to fully automate them can be up to 254 days.

Atomic Habits — Small Changes, Big Effects

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear emphasizes that small, seemingly trivial changes can have enormous effects over time in forming and changing habits, helping to improve our well-being and make positive changes in our lives. The author proposes a model for building new habits, known as the “Four Laws of Behavior Change”:

• tip Make it obvious, visible and noticeable.
• Thirst Make it attractive. Combine the habit with something desired to motivate yourself to perform the activity in question.
• Habit (behavior) Make it as simple as possible.
• bounty — make it satisfying and prompt, so that it motivates you to repeat the behavior.

This model can also be reversed to break non-supportive habits. If you want to give up something that does not serve you, try approaching the change as follows:

• tip Make it invisible. For example, if, returning from work, you pass a fast food restaurant that encourages you to eat there, change the route of the passage.
• Thirst Make it unattractive. For example, you can watch a documentary that shows the disastrous health effects of eating fast food frequently.
• Habit (behavior) Make it difficult. Maybe you will start returning from work with a colleague who leads a healthy lifestyle? In his presence, it will be more difficult for you to approach a fast food restaurant.
• bounty Make it not satisfying. Imagine the huge amounts of unhealthy fat, salt and sugar contained in fast food.

Clear also gives a lot of valuable tips on how you can make it easier to work with your habits. Here are a few of them:

1. The role of identity in building healthy habits. Habits are not only related to the activities we undertake, but also to our identity — therefore, long-term changes occur when we change our perception of ourselves. Instead of focusing on the consequences of changing habits (e.g., weight loss), we should focus on becoming a person exhibiting desirable behaviors and values, e.g., a person making healthy eating decisions.
2. The rule of 2 minutes. It is a simple rule developed by the author suggesting that when we try to form a new habit, we should choose one that will take us a maximum of 2 minutes to execute. Thanks to this, we will reduce our reluctance to undertake a new activity and increase the chances of adopting a new habit. For example, instead of doing 30-minute exercises every day, let's start by stretching for 2 minutes — this will get you used to repeating this little activity regularly.
3. Overlap of habits. Clear suggests combining habits in pairs to increase the chance of a new habit becoming established. This principle consists of superimposing a new habit on an already existing one, which helps to strengthen the clue. For example, after brushing your teeth (an existing habit), do skin care (new habit).
4. The influence of the environment on habits. According to the author, our environment has a great influence on our habits. By changing it, we can increase the chances of new habits becoming established and make it more difficult to carry out undesirable habits.
5. Stagnation of hidden potential. Clear presents the concept of latent potential stagnation — a situation in which repeated action does not produce immediate results, which often makes us discouraged before we reach our goal. The author emphasizes the importance of consistency and regularity and sticking to the set goals - our efforts will bring results over time, we just have to be patient and not be discouraged.
6. Tracking progress. Tracking our progress in forming a new habit is a helpful and simple way to get motivated. It consists of marking, for example in the calendar, the days in which we have performed an activity related to the habit, which will motivate us and encourage us to repeat it regularly so as not to interrupt the good streak. However, we must remember not to be discouraged if — for reasons beyond our control — we skip one day and return to the habit the next day.

By understanding the principles that govern our minds, we can perform small actions every day in a way that improves the quality of our lives. Let us also remember the right attitude to this type of change. Building a sense of agency, that is, the belief that we have the potential and the ability to influence our lifestyle, will create the best environment for effective introduction of new habits.

If you want to consult the book “The Power of Habit” or “Atomic Habits”, within MultiLife you have access to Legimi platforms, offering thousands of e-books and audiobooks.

_Bibliography

1. _{Duhigg C., The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House, 2012.}
2. _{Lally P., van Jaarsveld C.H.M., Pott H.W.W., Wardle, J., How habits are formed: modeling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40 (6), 998—1009, 2010.}
3. _{Wood W., Tam L., Witt M., Changing Circumstances, Disrupting Habits. Journal of personality and social psychology. 88. 918-33. 10.1037/0022-3514.88.6.918., 2005.}
4. _{Clear J., Atomic Habits, Galaktika Publishing House, 2019.}