Self-Care and The Habit Loop

 

One of the most discussed topics with my clients is habits, eliminating unwanted ones and replacing them with ones that support optimum well-being. An essential first step towards self-care is eliminating self-sabotaging behaviour. A clear understanding of habits can help us in accomplishing this goal. 

 

A habit is an unconscious behaviour. It is something we repeatedly do without giving it much thought. We develop a habit by repeatedly responding to external stimuli in the same way over and over again.

Factors such as corresponding emotions, underlying beliefs, and previously developed negative patterns can all contribute to how strong or ingrained a habit becomes. You see, habits result from a very normal part of brain function. They exist to make our lives easier. Once a particular behaviour, such as brushing our teeth every morning, becomes ingrained, we don't have to spend time and energy thinking about it. We can then use our mental energy for other, more critical tasks. The problem is that we often develop habits outside our best interests. There are many reasons for this:

 

• We can choose behaviour or actions based on outside influences such as our peers, friends, the media, and society.
• We can maintain a habit that was useful once but that has now become counterproductive to our personal growth. 
• We can have unconscious limiting beliefs affecting how we choose to behave. 

 

The good news is that we can replace self-sabotaging habits with positive, life-enhancing ones with determination, self-awareness, and the right strategies.

 

Understanding how habits are formed is one of the first steps to changing them. The Habit Loop pulled from James Clear's book "Atomic Habits." is a great model for helping us develop awareness and understanding around our habitual behaviour.

 

According to Clear, there are four steps to what he calls The Habit Loop. When we understand these steps, we can intervene at any point and change the outcome, eventually modifying the habit.

 

Cue

The cue is the triggering external stimuli. It is the event, situation, or

circumstance that creates a craving. Examples of cues can be:

• A television commercial about fast food.
• Anxiety-provoking social situations.
• Sudden changes in environmental factors such as cold, visibility, or comfort level.

 

Craving

The trigger or cue creates a craving. A craving is a deeply felt need or

desire to act. Examples of cravings associated with the above cues

are:

A television commercial about fast food can cause a craving for

food or something to eat.

Anxiety-provoking social situations can cause a craving for a drink

to calm your nerves.

A sudden drop in temperature can cause a craving to put on a sweater,

or turn up the heat.

 

Response

The response is how we "choose" to respond to the craving.

For example:

• We see a fast-food commercial crave a hamburger, and order fast food.
• We feel anxious in a social situation, crave a drink, and reach for a glass of wine.

 

Reward 

The reward is what we ultimately get from our response to the craving. For example:

• We order a hamburger - we satisfied our desire - it was delicious.
• We have that drink - we calm our nerves - we feel better.

 

As pointed out earlier, we can go through this process with little to no self-awareness. Our choices can be dictated by past behaviour, present emotions and immediate circumstances. If we are not careful, we can respond in ways that do not align with our values and goals. 

 

That's where self-awareness becomes critical. Self-awareness allows us to intervene in this process. Once we understand where we are in the loop, we can bypass our brain's automatic response and create patterns that give us our desired outcome.

 

For example, yes, the hamburger is delicious, but ordering fast food has become a habit, and now the reward has become unwanted weight gain.

 

So, what do you do when your brain starts creating habits or automatic responses that you no longer desire?

 

You start becoming aware of the process.

 

One of the best ways to do this is to start tracking your habits around a desired goal or outcome. Spend a few weeks just noticing where you are in the process. Answer the following questions using a journal.

 

1. What situations, events, people, or emotions trigger cravings?
2. What are your responses to these cravings?
3. Are the rewards you are getting from your responses align with your needs and desires?
4. What cues are showing up regularly?
5. How are you responding to your cravings? Are you getting the results you want?
6. What are the needs associated with these cravings?
7. What underlying beliefs might be influencing your responses to your cravings?
8. What other responses could you implement to meet your needs and give you a preferred outcome?

 

Create an awesome day.

Joanne