Lesson 30: The Habit Loop!

We are all programmed.

Since birth, all the actions and decisions we have made are as a result of our the environment that we grew up in and the beliefs/paradigms that we have been exposed to.

That's why the Jesuits always boast  "Give me a child for his first seven years and I'll give you the man", It is easier for children to acquire habits at a younger age than when they are older.

Habits are ways through which we minimize our brain from making choices for the simple daily life activities. It is the way our brain automates making choices.

If you can think of the routine you have every morning, it is always the same, even at times you might be surprised how you've arrived at home since this a daily routine which has become a habit.

And that's why we keep getting the same results over and over again.

The habits that we choose is directly proportional to the results that we get in life, that's why we should be very careful to which habits or routines that we embrace or decide to follow daily.

We all want to acquire the good or best habits that are in line with our aspirations and goal, but at times this is always a challenge, for example, we might to start waking up early and do everything in order to be ready to wake up early in the morning but when that time comes we immediately hit the snooze button and put it off, another good example is exercising .This is the daily struggle we encounter in acquiring new habits.

To hack our habits we have  noted that habits have three key elements which when well understood can be easy for one to make the desired changes.

A habit is made up of three key elements; i.e The cue, routine, and reward.

All these three factors make up the habit loop, and it is what all of us follow through in adopting a new habit or being addicted to one.

The cue is the trigger that makes your brain enter an automated mode and which habit to use, then we have the routine which is what your habits depict that you do and finally, the reward which is that feeling that tunes your brain to remember that particular habit.

For example in my case I usually do some weekend exercise (Running), when I wake up early in the morning I have my running shoes and track clothes where I can see them, when I wake up that's the first thing that I see, and that's my cue, then I dress up and head out, that's my routine and finally after 1 hour of running I'm back and have a warm shower then cuddle with a good book, that's my reward.

The key driver of the habit loop is the reward that we often get from the routine, and the moment the cue kicks in we automatically think

how it will feel to get the reward, we might not even be sure about the routine but the reward will drive us in order for us to go through the routine, this eventually becomes intertwined until a powerful sense of anticipation and craving emerges and that's where the habit is born.

We shall speak more about changing habits by hacking the habit loop to our advantage and some good habits that we can all acquire in the next lesson 30.

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