Habits explained part 1: The habit loop

In the mini article The most important skill that no one teaches you! I explained why habits are crucial to your life. This series focuses on explaining habits and how to detect, change or create new and better habits.

Habits follow a clear pattern, namely the so-called habit loop. The trigger of a habit is called the cue. The cue is the starting point for a routine and ends with the receiving of a reward.

Depending on the literature you will find that there are not 3 but 4 steps or at least components involved. The reason why certain habits are so difficult to change is that cravings are involved. Often cravings or the anticipation of the fulfillment of a craving releases even more dopamine than the actual reward. What this means is that typically a cue triggers a strong craving which then leads a person to act out a routine that leads to a reward: Cue → Craving → Routine → Reward

When habits are formed our brain prefers immediate rewards. This explains why some of the unhealthy activities such as constantly checking social media, eating unhealthy food, watching tv, playing computer games, drinking, and gambling create extremely fast habits that can take over our lives. The good news is that once you understand this system you can make it work for you.

The first step in learning to influence your habits is to be aware of them. Try this exercise: Think about your days and what activities you do, and try to identify what are habits and what the correlating cues are.