A cue, a routine, and a reward.
Hello Champion:
All it takes is 66 days.
66 days of training, journaling, or working towards a concrete goal.
This is how long it takes to form an automatic habit, and if we take a deeper dive into “habit loops”, we can learn how to transition old habits into more effective ones.
A cue, a routine, and a reward.
The consistent process of habit formation is an integral part in your everyday thoughts and actions.
Cue - Anything that triggers the habit, such as an emotion or the surrounding environment.
Routine - The behavior itself.
Reward - The idea that provides positive reinforcement for the behavior, increasing the likelihood of the loop recurring.
Now with this knowledge; How can we use it to our advantage?
First, we need to identify the routine; whether that is laying in bed right after class, rather than going for the run, the routines that we seek to “fix” in our lives could be endless.
Next, we need to find the reward itself. Did we want more sleep or did we just want a minute to rest? Once we isolate the reason for the action, we can disassemble and rebuild.
Finally, we need to isolate the cue. Take the pulse of your emotions, surroundings, sounds, smells, and more to exploit what creates the routine.
For instance - The cue was getting home around 3 pm after class and the routine was taking a nap.
If we dig deeper, the reward was not really the sleep itself, but more a necessary minute of rest.
Therefore, a plan to simply sit on the couch for 5 minutes, rather than heading upstairs to your room deters the action from occurring again.
66 days of this consistent pattern, and you have yourself a habit. Are you ready to make a change?
Once we call out the process and become aware of our true desires and motives, we can begin to start forming habits we LOVE, and a life we are truly PROUD of.
The WTMG Team
