Habit Identification
We will now go through each aspect of the Habit Cycle (Actions, Triggers, and Rewards) and examine how you can identify them in your own habits.
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Identify Triggers
A trigger is the cue that tells your brain to engage an action. It does this by activating memories and neurons that impel you to act a certain way. A trigger can be absolutely anything. This makes it hard to associate specific triggers with actions. But with some practice and a simple guide to classify some common triggers, you will be able to identify the cues that impel you to act the way you do.
Triggers go beyond sensations and senses. They can be emotions (anger, happiness, sadness), activities (cleaning, sitting at the table, going outside), places (the kitchen, the bar, and the church), states of mind (boredom), and a common trigger for negative habits: stress.
An example
A simple trigger that the majority of people face on a daily basis is hunger. When your stomach is sufficiently empty and there isn’t enough sugar in your blood, a signal is sent to your brain that tells you it is time to eat. Your brain impels you to seek out a remedy to its sugarless ailment by eating food. Once you eat something, you feel the reward of less hunger, more blood sugar, and a full stomach.
From the Habit Application in the previous lesson, did you choose an effective trigger for the habit you want to develop? If no, how would you change it?
An example
A similar but different trigger can be as follows. Your lovely spouse took the time in the afternoon to bake some cookies. She was kind enough to leave them on a plate on the dining table. As you walk past the plate you smell their buttery, sugary aroma and see those large chocolate chips. You gravitate toward the plate and sample 1…2…3 cookies. In this scenario, you have been triggered by olfactory (smell) and visual senses. And if you are anything like me, you were triggered just by reading about the description of the cookies (thoughts).
You are constantly being compelled to act by a host of various triggers. A simple awareness that these triggers exist will allow you to identify the habits that you have developed. As you experience a cue to act, recognize not only the act but also that which is compelling you to act.
Are there things in your life that you feel you should do, but don’t feel the “desire” to do them?
Identify Actions
The actions are probably the most easily identified part of a habit. It is the eating of the chocolate cookies and the exercise. It is the “do”. As previously mentioned, we often act too often or not enough. We eat too many chocolate cookies but don’t exercise enough. You may feel disappointed in yourself when you fail to act in a certain way.
An Example
You may wish you could have family dinner with those you love because you feel it will bring each of you closer together. You understand why you want to do it, but night after night, you all end up going your separate ways or watching television. You have tried setting a “family rule”, but after a long day you feel tired (trigger) and stressed (trigger) and you “forget” or think “this one time won’t ruin our family”.
Identify Actions
The actions are probably the most easily identified part of a habit. It is the eating of the chocolate cookies and the exercise. It is the “do”. As previously mentioned, we often act too often or not enough. We eat too many chocolate cookies but don’t exercise enough. You may feel disappointed in yourself when you fail to act in a certain way.
An Example
You may wish you could have family dinner with those you love because you feel it will bring each of you closer together. You understand why you want to do it, but night after night, you all end up going your separate ways or watching television. You have tried setting a “family rule”, but after a long day you feel tired (trigger) and stressed (trigger) and you “forget” or think “this one time won’t ruin our family”.
Identify Rewards
The reward is the best part of the habit cycle. It is the reason and the purpose for pursuing a certain course of action. Identifying the rewards of your habits is often as difficult as identifying the triggers. It may seem simple at first, but as the video with Charles Duhigg shows, the reward may be a little different than what appears obvious.
From the Habit Application in the previous lesson, did you choose an effective reward for the habit you want to develop? If no, how would you change it?
An example
In my earlier years, I had a habit of playing videogames (action) when I wasn’t occupied with other tasks (trigger). I felt the desire to pursue other interests but they were often crowded out by the urges to play videogames. I thought that the reason I sought after videogames was a simple chemical rush (reward) that came with the activity and stimulation. But as I continued to think about it carefully, I also determined that I wanted to play videogames because I believed I would be missing an experience if I didn’t play. I wanted to feel involved (reward) in something. I figured out I could replace videogames with a practice of mindfulness or being present in each moment, therefore being truly involved in my own life. As I did this, the urge to play videogames diminished and I could enjoy more interests.
Application
Return to the list of habits you created from the first lesson and add any more habits that come to your mind.
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Pick a few habits from that list and determine their components (trigger, action, reward).
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