Motivational speakers and authors have often discussed how successful people have good habits. Most athletes attribute their success to having good habits, having good habits have shaped their destiny to greatness.

Habits are automatic behaviors or routines that we perform regularly without conscious thought. This is like our brain is on autopilot.

The science of a habit is best described by what Charles Duhigg calls the habit loop, this is the lifecycle of any habit. The habit loop illustrates how habits operate and also shows how they can be created and changed. The habit loop consists of three (3) steps namely: cue, routine, and reward. A cue is a trigger that initiates the habit, which could be a location, day, or even an emotion.

The routine is the action that follows the cue. The routine is the actual habit for example when you wake up and start scrolling social media. Scrolling on social media is the routine.

The last step is the reward, the outcome that follows the routine. If your routine is preparing coffee after you wake up, the reward is boosting your energy and also enjoying the rich flavor of coffee.

Since most of our habits are unconscious, we are never been able to notice cues and routines that we do daily. Most people struggle with social media addiction and in most cases, they use it in the same location for example when they lying on the bed that is because the brain associates lying on the bed (cue) with scrolling social media (routine) and getting entertainment (reward).

All of this applies to every habit both conscious and unconscious. The more the behavior is repeated the more it is ingrained into our lives.

Habit formation typically follows the process:

Initially you make a conscious decision to perform an action
Repeat the action repeatedly
Automaticity develops- the routine becomes automatic because of repetition
New habit is formed eventually

Knowing the process of habit formation is the beginning of consciously creating good habits and it's also the key to breaking habits. If we take notice of our habits we will see that the things we have taken for granted have impacted our habits and therefore our daily lives, take for instance our phones vibrating(cue) means we will get entertained by messages we receive.

If we take into account the number of messages we receive daily, our brains understand the result of receiving those messages(reward).

Remember it takes time and consistency to build change habits but with perseverance and patience, it's possible to rewire your brain for success. So, start today by identifying a habit you want to change or a new one you want to form. Pay attention to the cues that trigger your current behaviors and experiment with new routines and rewards.

The Science Behind Habit Formation: A Beginner's Guide

This post looks at the science behind habit formation. It shows how both good and bad habits are formed.

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