Atomic Habits – How to Make Positive Changes in Life?

How do habits work?

Established habits—the routines we perform daily—are the best way to support our physical and mental health. By understanding the mechanisms behind how new habits are formed and maintained, we can consciously integrate them into our everyday lives.

Habits are formed through the regular repetition of a 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. This allows us to easily replicate the same behaviors without much thought, eliminating the effort involved in decision-making. We perform actions according to an established pattern, for example: "I run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6:00 PM." Unfortunately, this mechanism works both ways—if we always reach for chips while watching a series, it can become increasingly difficult to consider whether this is actually beneficial for our health.

What is the habit loop?

The habit loop is a concept popularized by Charles Duhigg in his 2012 book, "The Power of Habit." It explains how habits are formed and how we can consciously use this to implement habits that support us and eliminate those that are undesirable. This model consists of four elements:

1. Cue

A cue, or the trigger that initiates a habit, can be either external or internal. To establish a new habit, the trigger must occur regularly. There are five categories of such cues:

• location – a trigger associated with a specific place, e.g., the sight of your favorite cafe might encourage you to grab a coffee,
• time of day – habits can be associated with a specific time, e.g., evening reminds us to apply face cream,
• emotional state– emotions and thoughts can trigger habitual behaviors, e.g., stress can lead to snacking,
• other people – the presence of certain people can trigger specific habits; for example, it is easier for us to smoke when in the company of other smokers,
• immediately preceding actions – a trigger resulting from the combination of two consecutive actions, such as brushing your teeth after breakfast.

2. Routine (behavior)

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

3. Reward

A reward is a positive result, consequence, or satisfaction felt after a given action. It reinforces the developing habit, cementing our behavior and encouraging our brain to remember and repeat the habit loop in the future. Rewards can take various forms, such as a feeling of satisfaction and contentment from achieving a goal, physical pleasure, or a sense of relief after a stressful situation. Our brain is constantly looking for these types of rewards, which promotes habit formation by remembering the habit loops that have been played out. Over time, it begins to associate the cue directly with the reward, causing us to perform the behavior automatically, with minimal mental effort. 

4. Craving

Craving is another element of the habit loop that significantly influences its formation. It is the force that drives our brain to create connections between cues and rewards. For example, if we buy a cookie every day at work and eat it during our break, it is not the act of eating itself that motivates us to repeat this habit, but the desire for a break from work, the feeling of comfort and pleasure, and the energy boost from the sugar. 

How can you change your habits?

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

1. Identify the trigger – check what situations or circumstances lead to a specific behavior; for example, the trigger for craving chips might be watching a series.
2. Modify the routine – once you know the cue that causes a specific behavior, you can change your response to it, for example, by replacing chips with sliced apples.
3. Change the reward – find a gratification that satisfies the craving associated with the habit. If the reason for reaching for chips was the satisfaction of crunching, the crunchiness of apples might be just as pleasant. This way, despite modifying the habit, we are not deprived of a reward.

The key role of context

Habit formation is largely based on the repetition of a specific action. Research indicates that habits are formed when an action is performed repeatedly in the same context, i.e., in a specific place and at a specific 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 adopting the new habit.

Over time, repeated actions become automatic, or even subconscious. Developing simpler habits, such as drinking a glass of water in the morning, requires fewer repetitions. However, for more complex habits, such as regular exercise, the time needed for full automation can take up to 254 days.

Atomic Habits – small changes, big results

In his book "Atomic Habits," James Clear emphasizes that small, seemingly trivial changes can lead to massive results over time in terms of forming and changing habits, contributing to improved well-being and positive life changes. The author proposes a model for building new habits known as the "Four Laws of Behavior Change":

• Cue – make it obvious, visible, and noticeable.
• Craving – make it attractive. Pair a habit with something you desire to motivate yourself to perform the action.
• Response – make it as easy to perform as possible.
• Reward – make it satisfying and immediate to motivate yourself to repeat the behavior.

This model can also be inverted to break unsupportive habits. If you want to give up something that doesn't serve you, try approaching the change in the following way:

• Cue – make it invisible. For example, if you pass a fast-food restaurant on your way home from work that tempts you to eat there, change your route.
• Craving – make it unattractive. For example, you could watch a documentary that shows the disastrous health consequences of eating fast food frequently.
• Habit (behavior) – make it difficult. Perhaps you could start carpooling home from work with a colleague who leads a healthy lifestyle? In their presence, it will be harder for you to stop at a fast-food restaurant.
• Reward – make it unsatisfying. Imagine the massive amounts of unhealthy fat, salt, and sugar contained in fast food.

Clear also provides many valuable tips on how to make working on your habits easier. Here are a few of them:

1. The role of identity in building healthy habits. Habits are not just about the actions we take, but also about our identity—therefore, long-term changes occur when we change how we perceive ourselves. Instead of focusing on the outcomes of habit changes (e.g., weight loss), we should focus on becoming the kind of person who embodies the desired behaviors and values, such as someone who makes healthy eating choices.
2. The 2-minute rule. This is a simple rule developed by the author suggesting that when we try to form a new habit, we should choose one that takes a maximum of 2 minutes to complete. This reduces our resistance to starting a new activity and increases the chances of the new habit sticking. For example, instead of jumping straight into a 30-minute workout every day, start by stretching for 2 minutes—this helps you get used to repeating this small action regularly.
3. Habit stacking. Clear suggests pairing habits together to increase the chances of cementing a new routine. This principle involves layering a new habit onto an existing one, which helps reinforce the cue. For example, after brushing your teeth (existing habit), perform your skincare routine (new habit).
4. The influence of environment on habits. According to the author, our environment has a huge impact on our habits. By changing it, we can increase the chances of cementing new routines and make it harder to perform undesirable ones.
5. The plateau of latent potential. Clear introduces the concept of the plateau of latent potential – a situation where repeated actions do not yield immediate results, which often causes us to get discouraged before we reach our goal. The author emphasizes the importance of consistency, regularity, and sticking to our objectives; our efforts will pay off over time, we just need to be patient and not give up.
6. Tracking progress. Tracking our progress in forming a new habit is a helpful and simple way to stay motivated. It involves marking off the days on a calendar, for example, when we have performed the habit-related action, which will motivate and encourage us to repeat it regularly so as not to break the streak. However, it is important not to get discouraged if – for reasons beyond our control – we miss a day, and simply get back to the habit the next day.

By understanding the principles that govern our minds, we can perform small daily actions in a way that improves our quality of life. Let us also remember to maintain the right attitude toward such changes. Building a sense of agency—the belief that we have the potential and the ability to influence our lifestyle—creates the best environment for effectively adopting new habits.

If you would like to read "The Power of Habit" or "Atomic Habits," as part of MultiLife you have access to the Legimi platform, which offers 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 are habits formed: Modelling 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, Galaktyka Publishing, 2019.}