Dr. Cowgirl Joel Martin
By the age of five, it’s been said, our core set of beliefs about ourselves and the world around us are formed. We take these beliefs into our grown up lives.They become habits. No news right? Well reading “The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do in life and business” by Charles Duhigg, I got a new take on this.
Basically he says “habits get formed in a three-step loop (and he gives the science behind it which is great for us analytical types). First there is a cue, a trigger that tells our brains to go into automatic mode and which habit to use.Then there is a routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally there is a reward which helps our brains to figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future. Over time, this loop: cue, routine, reward; cue, routine, reward becomes more and more automatic. The cue and reward become intertwined until a powerful sense of anticipation and craving emerges.”
[Tweet “Breaking a bad habit is difficult. What is harder is recognizing the bad habit.”]I was preparing to deliver this distinction to attendees on my virtual coaching call and always want to give a story to bring concepts to life. I laughed when I realized that traveling with my working mom could be a #weightgainer. Here’s the backstory: As a kid I loved traveling with my mother which I got to do when we’d go to family reunions. Cue: Road trip. Routine: Since the trips were long we needed to pack a lunch. Reward: Love. Laughter. Sharing this special private time we had together. Chocolate candy and snack food that you could eat on the Greyhound bus was always part of the road trip.
Okay, here’s the #weightgainer. I drive – a lot – by myself to meetings, etc. What I now realize is an embedded habit with a lot of emotional attachment connected to it was —- you guessed it, eating snacks, Cheetos and chocolate while driving. By changing the routine to something healthier and keeping the cue: travel and the reward: connection, I “should” be on the way to breaking that loop.
Do you have a #weightgainer or other habit you need to break?
My Habit Loop
