Healthy Habits That Stick – Habit Cycle
Lesson 3
Alright you are ready to make those habits stick. You know what habits to create and how to motivate yourself to get started. Now you’re gonna learn how to put your healthy body on autopilot.
Have you ever noticed the habits that you do without thinking like brushing your teeth, or drinking your morning coffee. You can do them with your eyes clothes without much effort.
That’s what we want to create with healthy habits that will give you the body you want and the health you deserve.
There are 3 things you need to do to make those habits stick according to James Clear, a writer on behavioral psychology and habit formation.
Every habit that you have follows these 3 steps:
1)Reminder
2)Routine
3)Reward
The reminder is the trigger that sparks the behavior. You can set reminders such as alerts on your phone and alarms to remind you to do something at a specific time. You can schedule the behavior in your calendar.
The most effective way to trigger your habit is to attach it to a habit you’re already doing. Like after I brush my teeth, I will floss (flossing is the new habit, brushing your teeth is a habit that you already have).
Your routine is the consistent action you take, the behavior itself. Flossing your teeth every time you brush them. The key here is repetition until it becomes natural and you don’t even have to think about it.
Finally the reward, remember the two main things that motivates us is avoiding pain and getting pleasure.
What’s the benefit of your habit? We will use the same example flossing, your teeth looks cleaner it cuts down on bacteria in your mouth so your breath probably smells better. The reward is you become more attractive with clean teeth and fresh breath. Which can lead to a bigger reward of you attracting your dream mate, which completes your goal of not being single anymore. That’s stretching but it can happen lol.
I also want you to create little rewards each time you complete a desired behavior to give you an instant reward. It can be kind words to yourself or a little happy dance whatever it takes to make you feel good about your new behavior.
How will you reward yourself for your good behavior? Let me know in the comments below.
Today’s assignment: Complete your ‘Habit Cycle Worksheet’ and start your new healthy habits.
Yay that’s it, you’ve been given the tools to make your healthy habits stick. So now it just takes consistent action. Here’s a summary of what you learned:
- Got clear about your goals
- Got honest about where are you now
- Decided what habits you needed to create
- Identified your current habits
- Got motivated by knowing your why
- Made habits small and easy
- Created triggers for your habit such as scheduling, alerts, or even better, attaching it to an old habit.
- Rewarded yourself instantly for your new behavior; a kind word, cheer, dance, etc.
- Repeat-consistency is key.
Knowing what habits to create for a healthy body and life is one thing. Sticking with them is another.
Happy Healthy Habit Building
