Five Cues to Help Promote Better Habits
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.” James Clear
Our life is inevitably made up of the choices we make, including our daily habits. Our habits are the systems that drive our life. We can set goals but the key to achieving these goals is to implement the right practices. When we adopt a daily habit such as breathwork, movement, or scheduled time for focused work, these actions become second nature and builds momentum. The benefit of these habits slowly builds inside of us like water flowing over a rock. Each time we repeat a habit, whether good or bad, the groove gets deeper and deeper. As James clear also says, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” Are your habits moving you forward or backward?
“The difference between an amateur and a professional is in their habits. An amateur has amateur habits. A professional has professional habits. We can never free ourselves from habit. But we can replace bad habits with good ones.” Steven Pressfield
Habits can be a tricky thing, and we all have ones we want to change such as looking at our phone first thing in the morning. Whatever you want to change, the first step is figuring out what cues you into falling back into the habit. You see, our habits follow a predictable loop: Cue, Craving, Response, and Reward. The 5 cues that trigger our habits are time, location, preceding events, emotional state, and other people. I’ll discuss each in more detail below in hopes that it will help you rid of your bad habits and build new, healthy ones.
Time
We are scheduled creatures. Think about it, you likely do the same thing every morning and night before you go to bed. If you have a habit of eating late-night cookies, examine the “why” behind this behavior. Are you truly hungry or are you feeling low and reaching for a sugar hit? The key point is to recognize the time of day you are moving towards the habits you want to change and take a deeper dive into them. One way you can begin to change a bad habit is by starting a new one in the same timeframe. If you’re drinking too much coffee, set a water bottle beside your bed to remind yourself to hydrate first thing in the morning.
Location
This can be very powerful. For example, you return home after a long day, pour yourself a glass of wine, and sit down on the couch to “de-stress”. This pattern is ingrained in you based on the location and time. You can also use location to recreate a good pattern. If you want to start a meditation practice, set aside a special place in your home where you will do your meditation. Every time you see it, you will think about meditating. The more you do it, the deeper that connection will become.
Preceding events
A lot of our habits are responses to other events. For example, you smoke a cigarette after every meal. The cue of your meal triggers your brain to want a cigarette. A way to start a new habit is to stack it on top of something else you do. If you want to start journaling or reading more at night, place your book by your toothbrush and stack the habits together.
Emotional State
A lot of our habits are a result of the way we feel. For example, stress eating or drinking. Recognizing our emotional patterns will go a long way in breaking bad habits. The breath is key here. As you get stressed, notice your heart rate and respiration rate change and where you hold tension. As these begin to happen, instead of reaching for more food, take 3 slow and controlled breaths into the nose and out of the mouth.
Other people
Community is a large driver of our actions. If we hang out with people with healthy habits, we tend to adopt those. On the other hand, if our group of friends or family has bad habits, we will adopt those habits. We are tribal people and when we find a group we go along. Look at who you are hanging around. If you really want to make a change, sometimes you have to change the people you’re with.
We all have a vision in our head of where we want to go in life and what we want to accomplish. Do you have the habits that will push you to this place or are you just taking every day as it comes? I encourage you to look at the habits in your life and what is triggering them. Use these 5 cues to create awareness around your bad habits.
Call to Action
At Symmetry, we help busy people take back control of their lives so they have more time, more energy, and less stress! If you’re ready to take back control of your life, set-up a FREE 15-minute call today! We develop individualized lifestyle plans after assessing your breathing patterns, stress levels, fitness, and goals. We are currently offering virtual breath classes to help you begin to experience the benefits of the breath. You can access our schedule here. Our programs will improve your mindset, your performance, and give you tools to better handle the stresses of everyday life. Check out our website www.symmetry.live to find out more information.
