Imagine waking up every day feeling energized and motivated, with a clear sense of purpose/drive for the day ahead. Imagine achieving your goals with greater ease, breaking free from destructive behaviour patterns and living your life to the fullest. Sounds like a dream, right?
In reality, achieving this level of success requires more than just setting goals or making resolutions. Anyone can do that! Instead, it requires building habits – small, automatic actions that become embedded in our daily routine.
But here’s the thing: Habits can be extremely challenging to form… and breaking old habits can be even more difficult! That’s where the concept of “brain hacking” comes in. By using certain strategies to “hack” your brain, you can build new habits and break old ones more easily with time.
In this blog, we’ll explore the fascinating science behind habit formation, discuss the power of small changes and discover the techniques you can use to hack your brain, specifically for habit building. Whether your goal is to boost productivity, improve your health, or cultivate your creativity, understanding the art of habit building is the key to unlocking your full potential.
What are habits & how are they formed?
Habits are the invisible building blocks that shape our lives. They dictate our actions, behaviors, and ultimately our outcomes. But what exactly are habits and more importantly, how do they form?
At their core, habits are repetitive actions that have become automatic and ingrained in our daily routines. They are the result of a neurological process known as the Habit Loop, which consists of three key components: cue, routine and reward.
The cue is the trigger that initiates the habit. It can be anything from an external stimulus to an internal thought or emotion. For example, the sound of an alarm clock can serve as a cue to wake up and start your morning routine.
The routine is the behaviour or action itself. It’s the physical or mental process that you engage in after the cue. It can be as simple as brushing your teeth, going for a run, or reaching for a sugary snack when feeling stressed.
The reward is the positive reinforcement or satisfaction that follows the routine. It provides a sense of pleasure or relief, which encourages the brain to remember the habit loop for future repetition. For instance, eating that sugary snack triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, making you feel good and reinforcing the habit.
Through constant repetition, this loop becomes deeply embedded in our brains, creating neural pathways that make the habit more automatic and effortless. In essence, habits are like shortcuts for our brains to conserve mental energy while performing routine tasks. This can either work for us or against us.
Understanding how habits form is essential because it allows us to take conscious control over our behaviors. By manipulating the cues, routines and rewards, we can effectively shape our habits, leading to positive changes in our lives!
Now that we have a grasp on what habits are and how they are formed, let’s delve into the power of small changes and discover the art of building atomic habits to drive significant transformations.
The power of small changes: Atomic habits and their impact
When it comes to building habits, most people think they need to make massive changes to see results. However, the truth is, it’s the small changes that often have the most significant impact. In fact, this is often a more effective route to take when seeking true and sustainable change.
This concept is at the heart of atomic habits – small, incremental changes that compound over time to create significant transformations. By breaking down big goals into tiny, actionable steps, we can build momentum and create long-lasting change!
Let’s use exercising regularly as our example. Rather than trying to commit to an hour of exercise every day, start by building a habit of doing just five minutes of exercise every day. It may not seem like much, but it’s far more manageable and achievable than committing to an hour, which can quickly become overwhelming and lead to burnout.
Over time, you can gradually increase the time or intensity of your workouts, building on the foundation of the small habit of five minutes a day. Before you know it, you’ll have built a routine of regular exercise that feels effortless, enjoyable and (most importantly) realistic! Don’t set yourself up for failure. Start small and work your way up at your own pace.
The other beauty of atomic habits is their ability to stack on top of each other. By creating small, related habits, we can create a powerful ripple reaction that drives significant change. For example, if you want to improve your nutrition, you could start by building the habit of eating a healthy breakfast every day. Then, you could add the habit of packing a healthy snack to eat midday. These small habits start to add up, leading to noticeable improvements in your overall health and well-being.
Ultimately, focusing on small habits and atomic changes can have a remarkable impact on our lives. By breaking down big goals into tiny, manageable steps, we create momentum, build confidence and can achieve lasting transformation over time. Patience and consistency are key here!
Overcoming obstacles and sticking to new habits
One of the biggest challenges in building new habits is sticking to them long enough to see results. Here is where the real work begins! It’s easy to feel motivated when starting a new routine, but it can quickly fade as the initial excitement wears off.
Here are a few tips to help you overcome obstacles and stay on track:
1. Start small: As mentioned above, breaking down goals into tiny, achievable steps can help build momentum and maintain motivation over time.
2. Make it a routine: Consistency is critical when building habits. Try to establish a specific time and place to perform your new habit every day. After a few weeks of consistent repetition, it will start to feel like second nature.
3. Track all progress: Tracking your progress can help you stay motivated and see the impact of your efforts over time. Whether it’s journaling, using an app, or a simple habit tracker, find a method that works for you and stick to it.
4. Focus on the process, not the outcome: While it’s essential to have specific goals, it’s equally important to enjoy the process of building new habits. Celebrate each small victory and enjoy the journey towards achieving your larger goals.
5. Anticipate setbacks: No one is perfect, and setbacks are bound to happen. No true change is linear. Instead of letting inevitable setbacks devalue your progress, anticipate them and plan ahead. For example, if you know you’ll be travelling and won’t have access to a gym, plan to bring workout equipment or find ways to exercise without equipment or search ‘at-home workouts without equipment’’ on YouTube!
Essentially, building new habits takes time, effort and consistency. By starting small and participating in the steps above, you can overcome obstacles and stay on track to achieve your goals.
Final thoughts
Additionally, the presence of an accountability partner and/or a community of like-minded individuals can be a great way to build and maintain habits. Working with someone else or being surrounded by others striving to improve their habits helps create a sense of community and can provide the necessary motivation and support when things get tough.
Alternatively, you can also join a community or group to foster a sense of belonging and support, whether that be in person or online. Participating in a fitness class, an online forum, or a book club can give you a glimpse of a supportive community working towards similar goals. By putting yourself around other like-minded individuals who are also working hard on their habits, it becomes easier to stay motivated and committed to your own habits.
Lastly, do not give up! With some determination and mindfulness, the limits are endless.
