Breaking a Habit

We hear a lot about breaking bad habits or building healthy habits, but what does this mean? What are habit?

Brushing our teeth, eating the same brand of cereal, scrolling through our phones. Habits are tasks we perform so often and regularly that we don’t need to think about them. Some habits are usually seen as good, such as washing your hands. Others are seen as bad, biting your nails for instance. But itsn’t always that simple.

Healthy Habits

These are tasks that improve our wellbeing, especially when we do them on a regular basis.

For example

A morning wash: It is something that most of us do every day, and it’s crucial for our physical and social wellbeing.
Setting a consistent alarm: If you work regular hours, you do this so you’re not late for work. It also helps regulate your sleep schedule, which is key for your mental health.

Unhealthy Habits

Certain automatic actions can be bad for our wellbeing. Some are unhealthy from the start. Others might start as healthy behaviours, but then become negative over time.

For example

Smoking cigarettes: This can be good for social wellbeing if you have friends that smoke, and you don’t want to be left sat inside on your own. But it has negative effects on our physical and mental health.
Excessive exercise: Going to the gym everyday is obviously great for your physical health, but it may affect your social life if you are always at the gym.

It’s complicated.

Not all habits are inherently good or bad – they might be healthy for one person at one time, but unhealthy in another scenario. I’d like you to take the time to think about a habit you perform on a regular basis and think about the effect it has on your life. On a scale of 1 – 5, how positive is this habit? Be honest with yourself because we all have them. In fact, research has shown that around 45% of our day is taken up by habitual actions. We learn these behaviours because they improve our lives in a certain way – or at least to start with.

“The best habits have a positive impact on your life.”

It’s not just healthy habits that feel good. For instance, smoking can relieve stress and give you a short term kick. So lets dig a little deeper.

What’s the cost?

Now that you have a habit in mind, even if it is a positive one, consider the possible negative impact. Here are some questions you can ask yourself.

Does your habit stop you doing other things?
Is it bad for your health?
Does is have a negative effect on the people around you?

Answer honestly to yourself, do the positives of your habit outweigh the negatives?

We aren’t mind readers. We don’t know what habit you chose, but if its positives aren’t worth the negative effects it has on you, and/or the people around you, it might be a habit you want to change. But once a habit’s ingrained, it can feel really hard to get rid of. This is where we introduce the habit loop.

Habit Loop

According to research at the University College London, forming a habit can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days. But once it becomes automatic, the habit loop keeps us doing it.

The Cue: This is the scenario that triggers your habit. E.g. when you just get out of bed, so you take a shower. You’re at home feeling hungry, so you grab something to snack on in the kitchen.

The Routine: This is what we do in response to the cue – the habit itself. Feeling hungry at home might trigger a person to grab a banana, or it might trigger a different person to raid the biscuit tin.

The Reward: This is the prize at the end of the loop that makes us want to perform the habit again. Maybe it’s the healthy feeling of a stomach full of banana, or the luxurious taste of something sweeter.

Break the Loop

Getting rid of a bad habit can seem daunting, but once you know your habit loop, it’s much easier to swap an unhealthy habit for a healthier one.

Let’s take being addicted to our phone as we walk to work as an example, how can we kick this habit? First let’s identify the cue, what is causing the habit? This is simple, it’s a boring walk to work, but how might being on our phone as we walk to work be harmful? It might be that it makes you less aware of your surroundings, which can be dangerous when walking through busy streets and crossing roads. Maybe you can think of other negative impacts? To break this loop we need to think of an action which doesn’t change our routine very much. It could be calling a friend or family member, listening to music or an audiobook instead. Making something like this into a habit would keep the reward but reduce the negative impact.

It’s Not Always Easy

Kicking a habit isn’t just about changing your behaviour. It’s a mental game too. So to round things out, here are two quick tips for when you just can’t shake a habit.

Visualise Yourself Succeeding: It you imagine yourself getting rid of a bad habit, you’re more likely to succeed. You could start with a quick win, for instance throwing away a pack of cigarettes to help you imagine quitting for good.

Take Failure on the Chin: Remember how long it takes to form a habit? Well, expect your new habit to slip occasionally during that time. Say you miss a gym session, don’t beat yourself up about it, you’re only human. Accept the mistake and move on.

Now you’re thinking carefully about habits and the impact they can have on our lives. If you can break the habit loop, you’ll be well on your way to building a better habit.