What is a Habit?

A habit is an acquired behaviour or thought pattern that you have repeated so many times that it has become almost unconscious.  Habits can be helpful and harmful. Habits are beneficial because they are automatic.  Being able to engage in habits without thinking frees up space in our brains to focus on other things.  When we have good habits like arriving at work on time or being optimistic, we create a positive forward motion that we don’t have to think about and we can use that energy to focus on things that need special attention.  However, the same is true of bad habits.  We engage in these behaviours without much thought and they can damage our personal lives and healthy without us being aware of them. 

Using SMART goals to break a bad habit or create a healthy one:

Plan: create a plan using SMART goals

S: Specific: Make sure your goals are focused.  Being more specific helps you to identify what you want to achieve.

M: Measurable: Be able to answer how much or how many so you know if you have achieved your goal.

A: Attainable: Your goal should be challenging but still reasonable to achieve.

R: Realistic/Relevant: Is the goal realistic or relevant to something important to you.

T: Timely: Set a target date that is realistic so you don’t get discouraged. 

Choose an Approach: Some people are successful at quitting a behaviour all at once, while others find it more effective to limit the behaviour slowly overtime.

Replace bad habits with positive behaviours: Instead of trying to stop something, start doing something.

Reward yourself: It is helpful to reward yourself for engaging in the positive behaviour.  The is important because when you stop the old behaviour, you won’t get the surge of dopamine and the reward will produce the surge instead.  Over time, your brain will start to associate this new, positive behaviour with dopamine surge coming from the reward. 

Engage Others: Consider asking family and friends to help you break that bad habit.  Sharing your goals will provide further accountability and boost motivation.

Know your cues: Habit have three main parts: A cue, A routine and a reward. 

Cues are the context where you tend to engage in the behaviour and knowing your triggers can help you avoid them.