How many times do you wish you could change a certain habit? How many times have you failed to break a bad habit? It is not your fault. Most people don’t know how habits start, which is the problem. How to Control Your Habits to make or break is something we will talk about in this blog post. It can be used to change bad habits into good ones.  Everybody wants to get rid of bad habits. We do a lot of bad things, like smoke, bite our nails, spend too much, and more. But how can we stop doing these things? The answer lies in the study of how habits are formed. This blog post will talk about how cravings and behaviors are formed and how you can use this knowledge to change your habits. We will also talk about the four-step plan for getting rid of bad habits.

How are habits formed?

A “habit loop,” which is a three-part process, is where all habits begin. The first part is a cue, also called a trigger, that tells your brain to let a behavior happen on its own. Duhigg (2012), in The Power of Habit, talks about how MIT researchers found a three-step pattern in the brain that is at the heart of all habits (see Figure 1). Step one is to cue. Like a switch, it tells your brain to act automatically, which leads to the behavior. The second step is routine, which is the thing you do and how you act. The last step is to give a reward. It helps your brain decide if a certain habit loop is important to remember. Most habits have rewards that come right away or over time. Habits that give you rewards right away are easier to form and keep up, while habits that give you rewards later are harder to stick with. Think about how much easier it is to check your iPhone than to work out.

To better show how the habit loop works, let’s look at Instagram.

Cue: You get a push notification on your phone when someone likes or comments on one of your photos. That’s why the notification is there: to remind you to check your account. Routine: This is how they actually act. You check your Instagram account right away when you get the push notification. Reward That which you get from doing the behavior, like seeing who likes or comments on one of your photos, is called the reward. Don’t forget that the reward helps the brain decide if this loop is something it wants to remember. Since some habits are good, let’s look more closely at the one of turning off the lights when you leave a room. Cue: The light tells your brain to shut down and remember which habit to use when you leave the room. Routine: The acting out of turning off the light. Reward The reward is a lower utility bill and a better budget for home energy use overall.

Finding Habits Triggers

These types of things are some of the most common ones that make us do bad things:

• • Time—morning, noon, or evening

• • Location: Where we are and how we feel are the two things that matter.

• • People – the people we hang out with

• • Actions that came before—something we just did that could set off a habit

Steps on How to Control Your Habits

Finding the triggers for your habits

Finding the triggers for your habits is very important because it helps you figure out why you do the things you do and how to change your life for the better. By figuring out what makes you do what you do, you can see how patterns drive your habits. Being aware of these cues gives you the power to change or replace them on purpose. You’ll need to be self-aware and pay attention to find your habit cues. Please pay close attention to your habits without judging them, and think about the feelings, situations, and places that make them happen. Try changing possible cues and write down your observations in a journal to keep track of them over time. Allow yourself some time to learn how to recognize habit cues.

Think about why you want to change.

Why do you want to change or break a habit? A study from 2012 suggests that it might be easier to change your behavior if the change you want to make is something that will help you. Think about why you want to break the habit and what good things you think will happen as a result of the change. Writing down these reasons might help you come up with some more that you hadn’t thought of before. Write down your reasons and put it somewhere you’ll see it often, like on your fridge or the mirror in your bathroom. This will help you stay motivated. You also need to lead yourself with purpose and leadership, recognizing that every small step towards positive change is a significant victory. Seeing the list can help you remember the change you want to make. If you do slip up again, your list will help you remember why you want to stay on track.

Set reminders for yourself:

Putting up stickers, notes, or other visual aids where the habitual behavior takes place can help you rethink what you’re doing when something sets it off. Here are some ideas:

• • Do you want to stop drinking soda with every meal? Stick some small notes on your fridge so that you’ll see them when you need a can.

• • Not sure how to remember to turn off the lights when you leave a room? Write something on the door or light switch for yourself.

• • Want to make sure you never lose your keys again by putting them in a certain place? Put down a dish for your keys somewhere you’ll see it when you get home.

You can also set reminders on your phone. A note to yourself that says something like, “Time to turn off the TV! :)” or “After-dinner walk—remember how good it feels!” will help you get going.

Change your Environment or Surroundings:

Sometimes, where you live can have a big effect on the things you do. It could be that you want to stop ordering takeout all the time because it costs you too much. But the to-go menus are always on your fridge when you go into the kitchen. Instead of the menu, you could print out some easy recipes that you know you’ll like.

• • Putting a journal, book, or hobby supplies (like sketchbooks, crafts, or games) on your coffee table is another way to get you to pick them up instead of scrolling through social media.

• • Cleaning up your house for 10 to 15 minutes every night will help you keep it clean.

• • Changing up your morning walk to work will help you avoid passing the cafe with the tempting, overpriced latte.

Remember that the people you spend time with are also a part of your environment. You might want to take a break from spending time with people who make your habit worse or who don’t help you break a habit.

Build a strong Willpower:

Willpower means being able to say no to temptation and keep your mind on your goals. Because it’s limited, we need to be smart about how we use it. We have to use our willpower to fight the urge to do the old habit when we are trying to break it. Here are some things we can do to get stronger willpower:

• • Sleep enough. For strong willpower, you need to sleep. We are more likely to give in to temptation when we don’t get enough sleep.

• • Eating Healthy: Eating healthy foods gives us the strength to say no to bad things that come up.

• • Regularly work out. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that makes decisions, gets stronger when we exercise. This makes us more determined.

• • Take a break. Take a break when you feel like you can’t handle everything. This will give our willpower a chance to get stronger.

Practice Mindfulness:

Being mindful can help you become more aware of your feelings, thoughts, and actions. As you do this practice, you should just notice urges that are related to your habit without judging them or acting on them. As you learn more about these habits and what makes you do them, it might be easier to think of other options, like ignoring cues that remind you or giving in to your urges.

Replace the habit:

If you want to break a habit, it might help to replace the bad behavior with a good one instead of just trying to stop the bad behavior. Let’s say you don’t want to eat candy at work when you’re hungry. As much as you try to stay away from the candy dish, you might give in when you get hungry. You could bring a Tupperware with nuts and dried fruit to keep at your desk, though, for another snack option. The urge to stick to the new routine grows as you do the new behavior over and over again. When you start to feel better because of the new habit (like having more energy and not having as much of a sugar crash), you might want to keep doing it more than the old habit. Different Ways to Replace Habits People try to change their habits in a number of different ways. Here are some of the most common strategies:

• • Habit stacking means connecting a new habit to a habit you already have. Like, you might choose to brush your teeth after you wash your hands.

• • The 21/90 rule: It takes 21 days to start a new habit and 90 days for it to stick.

• • The method of “small wins”: Using this method, you break down a big goal into smaller steps that are easier to handle.

Take care of yourself.

It’s easier for many people to make positive changes in their lives when they start healthy. If you’re already having problems with things like stress at work, issues in your relationships, or health, trying to break a habit can cause more stress than the habit itself. It’s especially important to put your health first when you’re trying to break a habit. This not only makes you more likely to succeed, but it also helps you keep going when things get tough. Take care of yourself with these ideas:

• • Allow time for sound sleep.

• • Eat healthy meals on a regular basis.

• • If you have any long-term concerns, you should see your doctor.

• • Try to be active most of the time.

• • Every day, set aside some time for hobbies, relaxation, or other things that make you feel better.

Use rewards to Motivate Yourself:

Remember that it can be very hard to break a habit. Take the time to notice how far you’ve come and try to reward yourself along the way. You can boost your confidence and drive to keep trying by doing small things like telling yourself how great you are at what you’re doing. You’re less likely to give up or talk badly to yourself when you think about how far you’ve come. Both of these things can kill your motivation.

Conclusion:

Last, but not least, it’s not your fault if it’s hard to break a habit. The trouble is that most people don’t know how habits begin. To break a habit, it can help to understand the habit loop and how behaviors and cravings are formed. To break a bad habit, you need to find the things that make you do it, think about why you want to change, set reminders, change your environment, get stronger willpower, practice mindfulness, and replace the bad habit with a good one. Taking care of yourself and using rewards to keep you going can also help you break bad habits.

FAQs

How can I break my bad habits?

• • Avoid tempting situations.

• • Instead of doing bad things, do good things.

• • Get your mind ready.

• • Ask for help.

• • Give yourself rewards for the little things you do.

What causes bad habits?

You can see that not being self-aware and controlling your habits is the main cause of them. People often pick up bad habits as a way to deal with bad feelings, stress, or boredom.

What are the four keys that make habits?

Four easy steps make up the process of making a habit: the cue, the craving, the response, and the reward. Putting habits into these simple pieces can help us understand what they are, how they work, and how to make them better.

What is the Golden Rule of Habit?

The Golden Rule of Habit Change says that to break a habit, you should figure out what the old cues and rewards are, keep them, and try to change only the routine. The psychologist knew that Mandy would have to make some changes to her life in order to stop biting her nails.