How to Create a New Habit or Breaking a Bad One

Habits are defined as routines that are practiced regularly. They may also be referred to as activities that are brought on by an internal or external trigger. Furthermore, habits are the actions you take in specific situations. One person might, for instance, have a routine of brushing their teeth before going to bed. Basically, anything that is repeated often enough to become automatic might be considered a habit. You don't actually need to consider doing the thing any longer. It just happens.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of habit is:

a. a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance; or

b. an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.

Formation of Habit:

Although it could be difficult, you shouldn't give up on trying to establish healthy habits that will benefit your physical, mental, emotional, and social wellness. You can end your negative cycles by taking certain steps. Our capacity to develop new habits (or to end current ones) is impacted by a number of different factors.

Every habit is based on a neurological loop that controls our behavior and has an impact on our routines. The three R's—Reminder, Routine, and Reward—compose it.

A habit is cued by a reminder, which then affects your action or routine, which then gives you a sense of reward or fulfillment, and so on. In other words:

Reminder: The stimulus that prompts your conduct or action.

Routine: The actual action or conduct.

Reward: The sense of contentment or benefit you get after performing an action or adopting a behavior.

You must become familiar with these three elements in order to develop a new habit or stop an unhealthy one. A habit can only be broken if you are aware of why you continue to do it. However, developing a new habit is only possible if you are aware of its potential causes and benefits.

Let’s take eating lunch as an example. What is the reminder, routine, and reward of eating lunch?

Reminder: The reminder that triggers you to eat lunch can be the time (it is midday, so you eat lunch), hunger (your stomach grumbles, so you eat lunch), or both.

Routine: The routine is the action, which is eating lunch.

Reward: The reward you get from eating lunch can be the satisfaction from the taste of the food, a full stomach, a refreshed energy, or all of them.

If the reward is satisfying, you are compelled to repeat the action each time the reminder prompts you. The routine develops a habit over time through repetition, which makes the behavior unavoidable and something you do even when there is no reminder or reward.

Breaking a Bad Habit:

Let’s start with smoking

Step 1: Identify the routine

The first step in breaking this habit is to identify the routine. We have already accomplished that earlier, and it is smoking.

Step 2: Play with the rewards

In order to determine which incentive is genuinely making you crave your present habit, you experiment with the rewards that come with various routines during the second step of the process of quitting a bad habit. Try be engaged and satisfied with possible rewards for smoking: relaxation, interaction, and satisfaction by altering routine. For example: meditating for a few minutes for relaxation, talk to a friend for interaction and eat a piece of fruit or drink fresh juice for satisfaction.

Step 3: Pinpoint the reminder

The hardest part of creating a habit is attempting to identify a reminder. Because there are so many diverse triggers everywhere around us, it is incredible to isolate a single trigger. The key is to recognize certain patterns of behavior and activity in relation to several habitual factors, including the time of day, your location, your mental state at the moment, nearby neighbors, and the action that came just before your urge.

Whenever you feel bored, you go down to the smoking area to smoke. At the same time, whenever you are in the smoking area, you interact with your coworkers, which then relieves you of the feeling of boredom.

Once the cycle is clear to you, you can now take necessary changes in your actions and behaviors.

Creating a New Habit

Creating a new habit is also determined by the neurological loop amongst the reminder, the routine, and the reward. Let you want to make Yoga as a habit when you are in anger.

Step 1: Set a reminder

It triggers you to act or behave in a certain way, which, if done repeatedly over time, will establish a new habit. You need an effective reminder that doesn't depend on willpower or memory to successfully create a new habit.

If you want to develop the habit of practicing yoga every morning, look at your list and see where it may fit. When you wake up in the morning, you will see your outfit prepared and ready for use. This can be a reminder for you to practice yoga.

Step 2: Create an easy routine

If you are just starting to develop a habit, start small. Create an easy routine that you can commit to, and then build up on it as you go along. So, you start with one routine that you can do every day—yoga. If it still seems intimidating, narrow the task down further.

Step 3: Celebrate with a reward

A routine is simpler to maintain if there is a satisfying reward attached to it, as was already indicated. You can develop your own incentive system to motivate you to repeat the pattern as a habit by setting up rewards along the way. Give yourself a cake slice or an ice cream cone as a treat for a successful week.

The pain of resisting a habit eases once a new habit form. You can do that in forty days if you repeat a new thought or behavior every day without fail. If you miss a day, start over with Day One.