Can’t Keep a Habit? This Comic Shares a Proven Formula to Make It Stick

The science behind habit formation is both fascinating and frustrating. Habits are hard to break once they’ve taken hold because our brains have evolved to prioritize efficiency over change. When it comes to tasks, the brain seeks the most straightforward way of doing them without expending too much energy on figuring out new procedures.

Habits are formed through a fundamental interaction between trigger, behavior, and reward. This trifecta is often referred to as a “habit loop.” A specific cue or trigger sets off the action, which then provides some kind of benefit or satisfaction. For example, many people’s morning routine starts with checking social media: reaching for their phone upon waking (trigger), scrolling through feeds (behavior), and feeling connected and informed (reward).

What happens next? We repeat the process without even realizing it, because our brains are wired to seek that initial reward repeatedly. To make habits stick, we need a deeper understanding of this habit loop. One effective strategy is implementation intentions: specifying when and where you will perform an action. You pair your goal with a precise plan for what you need to do to achieve it. This might look like saying out loud, “I will meditate every morning at 6 am,” rather than just planning on doing it sometime in the future.

Another strategy is habit stacking: building new habits onto existing ones. Identify an existing routine and attach a small new behavior to that habit loop. For instance, right after brushing your teeth (an already-established daily task), take two deep breaths and set aside five minutes for some stretching or quick exercise.

When trying to form habits, we often encounter obstacles such as procrastination, motivation, and setbacks. To overcome these challenges, it’s essential to be kinder to yourself than you normally would be. Don’t expect perfection; don’t get discouraged by slips-up or failures. Think about your long-term goals rather than focusing solely on short-term successes.

Our sense of identity plays a crucial role in making habits stick. We are who we consistently do – people say that after doing something for thirty days straight, it’s yours to keep. But why exactly does this happen? Our understanding and commitment to certain behaviors gets tied up with who we perceive ourselves as being.

To track our progress and set achievable goals, we need practical tools such as a simple journal or spreadsheet where you record each habit performed. This can make a huge difference in staying motivated – it’s not about self-tracking but having concrete evidence that we’re moving forward on the right path.

By understanding and tweaking existing habit loops, implementing new strategies like implementation intentions and habit stacking, overcoming obstacles with patience and empathy towards ourselves, cultivating an identity aligned with the behaviors we want to adopt, measuring progress accurately, and using that information as fuel for further growth, we can create lasting changes in our lives.